The Wolves of Fabletown
by goofnutgav
Summary: What if myths, legends, and fairy tale characters were real and are living among us in a secret community in New York? One day I woke up and found out the hard way.
1. Chapter 1

Seed Compound, Hope County, Montana, may 24, 2018.

I stared down coldly and kept my gun trained on the disgusting excuse for a human being who was slowly crawling away from me.

The sick fucker that was currently on his knees looking defeated is named Joseph Seed-former leader of a now destroyed cult named Project at Eden's gate.

I thought in relief while letting out a shaky sigh, "It's _finally over."_ I was feeling exhausted and mentally broken over what I've experienced for the past two months.

For those of you who are wondering who I am, my name is Nathan Pierce, former law enforcement officer turned Resistance leader of Hope county. The things I've seen and done have scarred me not only physically but mentally.

When I graduated the police academy and was transferred to the Hope County Sheriff's Department, I thought I could make a difference and I wanted to be recognized for my efforts as a good cop. Like any other rookie greenhorn I had no idea how dangerous things could be.

For my first three months on the force I did my job well. I arrested bar-brawling drunks and wrote my reports I even impressed my training Officer when I de-escalated a situation by talking down a man with a knife who was threatening his wife for cheating on him. Sure, I did okay but I wanted to do something bigger. So when a U.S Marshal named Cameron Burke showed up one day and presented an arrest warrant for a man named Joseph Seed, I knew this was my chance to prove myself big time.

When I noticed my coworkers getting nervous and it took some convincing to take a helicopter to Josephs compound, I knew something very bad was going to happen and it did.

We flew to the compound, landed, and approached the sentry posted at the front gate. When he challenged us, we presented the arrest warrant for Joseph Seed. The sentry consulted with someone on his radio and came back to tell us that we had to go to the church and let us in.

When I saw all the cult members armed to the fucking teeth glaring at us with open hostility, I realized that this wasn't going to end well for us. We approached the church and Burke, Whitehorse, and I carefully entered, while leaving Hudson outside to cover the front doors. Joseph was delivering a sermon to a few dozen members but stopped when we entered and asked us what our business was. We presented the warrant and as he stepped down from the podium the members erupted in an outrage and it got really ugly fast.

* * *

 _I was escorting Joseph Seed to the helicopter while the Marshal and my coworkers were covering me. Burke had his service weapon out and was aiming it at any cult member that got too close ordering them to step back, Joseph's followers were shouting and protesting at seeing their beloved savior being carried away in handcuffs._

 _"Fucking Peggies." Hudson growled out while gripping her shotgun._

 _"Peggies? What the hell does that mean?" I asked in confusion._

 _"Peggies is what the locals call the cult members, rookie." Hudson explained,"It's short for Project at Eden's Gate..." She broke off and aimed her gun at a Peggie that got too close._

 _Rocks and trash were being chucked at us as we were approaching the helicopter. One stone clocked the Marshal in the head causing him to stumble and fire his gun in the air. All hell broke loose as everyone drew their weapons and tried to shout down the other side. My coworkers desperately tried to keep control of the angry mob as I hustled Seed to the helicopter._

 _"Oh shit!" I thought in terror and shoved Joseph inside, frantically climbing inside the helicopter with my coworkers and Burke right behind me. As the chopper started to lift off, from out of nowhere a few of Joseph's followers leaped onto the helicopter. As one psycho jumped onto the windshield, two of the others grabbed the Marshal and me and tried to yank us out while the pilot Pratt was trying to stabilize the chopper as it raised up into the air._

 _"Get..the..fuck..off me." I grunted at the deranged woman clinging to me. I shook her loose and shoved her out the door. She fell a few feet to the ground and immediately jumped up and continued screaming at me as the helicopter took off into the air. Burke was leaning outside trying to get the crazy bastard to let go of the arm without letting go of his service weapon._

 _I scrambled over to Burke, pulling the taser from my belt and fired it at the nut job dangling from Burke's arm. As he seized up and let go, falling to the ground, I hauled Burke backwards by his Kevlar vest to make sure he didn't fall out. Looking up I saw Joseph Seed singing without a care in the world._

 _"Is that Amazing Grace? What the fuck is wrong with that man?" I thought in disbelief, seeing him looking so calm._

 _Suddenly the man that was still holding onto the windshield lost his grip and was sucked up into the blades causing blood and gore to spray everywhere. The chopper started spinning out of control and fell back to the ground.  
_

 _Burke, Whitehorse, Hudson, Pratt, and I started screaming in fear while frantically strapping in and bracing for impact._

 _"Ohh fuck me!?" I yelled out in horror when I saw the the ground rapidly approaching, then we crashed and everything went black._

* * *

Somehow by some miracle we all survived but things got worse from there. Joseph's followers had found us and grabbed my coworkers, dragging them away while Burke and I barely escaped with our lives. We fled the crash site but got separated when they started shooting at us.

Feeling afraid of getting killed or being taken and having God knows what done to me, I snuck past patrols and found a gun in one of the log cabins. Continuing to move through the forest I eventually met up with Burke and we hunkered down in a trailer. He gave me an assault rifle and told me not to hesitate to use it.

We searched through the trailer, hoping to find something useful. We heard voices outside and realized that the Peggies had found us. They started firing at us, forcing me and the Marshal to shoot back in self defense.

Burke spotted a pick up truck that was parked in the garage and yelled at me to cover him while he made a break for the truck and tried to get it started. I fired full auto at the cult members forcing them into cover. Just when I thought it would never end I heard the truck start and Burke honked the horn which motivated me to jump out the window. I booked it in a panic to the truck while keeping my head down to avoid the barrage of gunfire.

Burke opened the passenger door, I dived in and slammed it shut. I shouted at the Marshal to get us the fuck out of here. Burke slammed his foot on the gas and we took off to the highway, keeping our heads low.

We started heading to Missoula, hoping to contact the National Guard and come back to drop the hammer on these nut jobs before anyone else got hurt or worse.

We had to go off road a few times because Peggies had the roads blocked. I found some dynamite in the back of the truck I started lighting and tossing them at the psychopaths out of desperation. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, a plane dropped bombs on a bridge we were speeding over, sending Burke and me flying into the river. I started to black out a few times while we frantically swam to shore. When I finally dragged myself out of the water, I passed out from exhaustion on the shoreline.

I faintly remembered waking up and being carried by someone while I was half conscious before passing out again.

Next thing I knew I woke up zip-tied to a bed with a man staring down at me. He was contemplating handing me over to the Peggies but changed his mind and freed me when I started begging him to spare me from a terrible fate.

The man left me alone but not before telling me to change my clothes cause I stuck out like a sore thumb. Changing my clothes and tossing my uniform into the trash, I went to see the stranger feeling afraid of not knowing what the future held for me. I met up with the man who introduced himself as Dutch. He told me that the Marshal and my coworkers were being held captive by the members of the Seed family and that the way to save them was to form a resistance against the cult.

Little did I know what the next few months held for me.

* * *

After two months of fighting through hell, I finally saved my coworkers and killed Jacob, John, and Faith Seed, Joseph's top three lieutenants. I freed most of Hope County from the tyranny of Seed and his followers, but not without a cost. Burke was dead-while under the influence of a drug called Bliss, he had killed the leader of a faction of the resistance called the cougars and then committed suicide. I saw the whole thing and it caused me to fly into a rage and brutally kill Faith Seed in cold blood. I didn't feel anything when Faith died-the only thought I had when I saw her bloody corpse sinking into the river was 'good riddance.'

I was captured by Jacob Seed a few times and the things he did to me changed me for the worse. He starved and psychologically tortured me for days, attempting to brainwash me into carrying out his orders. When it worked, the first thing he had me do was kill someone I had befriended, the leader of the Whitetails Militia named Eli Palmer. When I realized what I'd done, I felt myself snap out of it and proceeded to hunt down Jacob and slaughter him.

John Seed lured me to a small town called Falls End with threats of killing hostages he had captured. As I went in to save the prisoners I was ambushed by Peggies who took me to John Seed. While his men held my comrades at gunpoint, Seed exacted revenge against me by holding me down and forcibly tattooing the word "wrath" across my chest. I broke free and grabbed a gun that Pastor Jerome had hidden in a fake bible. I tried to shoot John but one of his men grabbed my arm away and the shot went wild. In the chaos, the hostages broke free and began fighting against their captors. Nick Rye a good friend of mine, now freed and fighting back handed me a shotgun and some ammo he had taken from one of the Peggies. We saw John, the sick fucker, fleeing to his airstrip and we pursued him. At the airstrip John and his pilot jumped into a plane. As they taxied down the runway, Nick and I jumped into another plane that was parked nearby and followed them into the air. After a dog fight in the air with help from Nick Rye, I finally shot the bastard down and saw John eject from his plane and parachute to safety. I grabbed an emergency parachute and jumped out of the plane, landing in the woods near where I saw Seed go down.

When I finally caught up to him, I shot him in the leg to slow him down. As John writhed on the ground screaming in agony, I emptied my shotgun into him, turning John into a gory mess. When my gun ran dry, I dropped it and looked at my hands in disbelief. I was trembling, feeling disturbed and horrified at what I was becoming. I was realizing that the person I used to be was gone and that I was never going to be the same again.

Some time later, my coworkers, members of the resistance, and I met up to regroup and figure out what to do next. With the three Seed family members dead and most of the county freed, I knew it was time for Joseph Seed to pay for his crimes. So we began planning to storm the Seed compound, ready to lay out righteous fury against the one that has caused so much suffering and carnage for the past two months.

* * *

 _The doors to the church opened and Joseph Seed walked out and stopped next to two open barrels full of bliss. I kept my assault rifle trained on him while he looked up at the sky._

 _"And the lamb broke the fifth seal, and I saw under the altar the souls of the martyrs, slain because of the word of God..." The deranged Cult leader said before lowering his eyes from the heavens to glare at me._

 _"You've made martyrs of my family... and I am prepared to do the same to yours." Joseph said, pointing at me. My glare at him intensified at his gall for threatening my friends._

 _I was about to pull the trigger and finish this when I heard sounds of a struggle. Turning around in confusion, my eyes widened at seeing members of the resistance forcing Whitehorse, Hudson, and Pratt onto their knees at gunpoint with a glazed look in their eyes. Seeing their vacant expressions made me realize that they had been exposed to Bliss and wouldn't hesitate to shoot my coworkers on Joseph's command. Joseph walked into my line of sight and I felt extreme hatred for that disgusting excuse of a man._

 _"But, God is watching us. And He will judge us on what we choose in this moment." Joseph said looking at me._

 _"Where every slight... every injustice... where every choice reveals our sins. And where have those sins led us? Where have those sins led you?" He asked me, looking at the scars that I had gained in the past two months._

 _"Your friends have been taken and tortured and it's your fault. Countless people have been killed, and it is your fault. The world is on fire and it's your fault. Was it worth it? Was it? When are you gonna realize that every problem cannot be solved with a bullet?" the cult leader said through clenched teeth. He walked back to the front of the church and turned to look back at me while I stared coldly._

 _"When you first came here, I gave you the choice to walk away. You chose not to. In the face of God I am making you that offer one last time... Put down your guns. And you take your friends. You leave me my flock... and you go in peace," he said, giving me and my coworkers a chance to walk away from all this madness._

 _"Go in peace? You're fucking insane." Hudson growled looking at Joseph with murder in her eyes._

 _"Is he? We never should have been here in the first place," Pratt argued with a broken expression on his face. Whitehorse looked up at me and said, "You know what to do Rook..."_

 _I turned around and stared back at Joseph who was walking to me. He stopped a few feet away and raised his arms before speaking to me._

 _"Remember...God is watching," he said, warning me that whatever choice I make will have consequences._

 _My eyes widened in fury for him putting blame for all of this on me. Seed and his family had tortured, killed and torn families apart, and he had the gall to not only blame me for all of this madness, but was giving me the choice to walk away like a coward. I was pissed-no I was downright fucking livid. I wanted to make him pay for everything he had done.  
_

 _"Okay, I thought about your proposal and I've decided to decline, so here's my counter offer. You are going to let my friends go and we are going to put the cuffs on you and take you to court where you'll be sentenced and locked up for your crimes. Oh and please resist. It'll make it all the more satisfying to put a fucking bullet in your head," I said mockingly with a sinister grin. Joseph closed his eyes and slowly shook his head in disappointment._

 _"Every slight, every injustice, and every choice reveals our sin! John was wrong. Your sin is not wrath. You would rather watch the world suffer and burn than swallow your pride! And the lamb broke the sixth seal and lo, there was a great earthquake...And the sun became black and the moon turned to blood!" Joseph growled before shoving the barrels to the ground, I could feel the effects of the bliss hitting me again. My vision went green and all hell broke loose._

 _Next thing I knew, my vision cleared up and I saw Hudson, Pratt, and Whitehorse getting up off the ground with glazed looks on their faces. I heard Joseph rambling insanely and could see my coworkers, along with members of the Resistance, aiming guns at me. I could see Joseph holding an large machine gun, looking completely deranged._

 _I gave a feral grin and started aiming my rifle, ready to unleash hell._

* * *

And that leads us to where we are now. It wasn't easy getting everyone to come back to their senses but I successfully managed to snap my comrades out of it. After I did that we all turned our guns at Joseph and immediately opened fire, forcing him to take cover. I signaled that I was flanking and Pastor Jerome nodded, then kept the sick fucker busy with a barrage of gunfire while I approached from the side.

I stealthily made my way over to Joseph and took out my collapsible baton, flicking it open. Then I took out a white handkerchief and waved it above my head to signal everybody to stop firing. In the sudden silence, Joseph heard me moving behind him and turned around just in time to catch my baton across his face, knocking his sunglasses off. He dropped his weapon as he fell to the ground clutching his face.

I immediately grabbed his sidearm and tossed it away before kicking him in the chest to add insult to injury. Finally, the effects of the bliss wore off and I could think more clearly again that's when I heard Joseph speaking, as he got up to his knees.

"Forgive them Father...they know not what they do...And when the lamb opened the seventh seal...there was silence in Heaven...and the seven angels before God were given seven trumpets... And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake." Joseph babbled on while Pastor Jerome and the others cautiously approached, I was looking at birds flying by in a panic. Suddenly I heard sirens blaring out and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Joseph Seed, you're under arrest." Whitehorse said sternly. Holstering his revolver, he hauled Joseph up to his feet before cuffing him.

"And I heard a great voice from the temple say to the angels go your ways and pour from the vials, the wrath of God upon the Earth." Joseph said looking at me.

 _"Jesus Christ, does this asshole ever shut up?"_ I thought, glaring at Joseph in irritation. I was about to yell at him to be quiet when suddenly there was a giant flash of light and what sounded like an explosion. I raised my arms to my face to block out what ever the light was and slammed my eyes shut. I opened them a few seconds later and what I saw horrified me beyond belief.

There was a mushroom cloud in the distance. Seeing it made me put my hand over my mouth in shock.

"Oh my fucking God." I whimpered in horror, my eyes welling up at seeing the devastation. Joseph leaned close to me and whispered, "It is finished child." Then he started singing Amazing Grace.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Pratt exclaimed in pure horror and disbelief before we were knocked off balance by the force of the shockwave and scrambled desperately to avoid the flying dust and debris.

"The truck! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Whitehorse shouted in alarm as we frantically fled towards the nearest vehicle. I reached the back door and opened it. Hudson, Pratt, and Joseph went in the back seat while Whitehorse and I jumped in the front seats and slammed the doors shut.

"He was right! He was right! I knew it...I fucking knew it. Shit! Jesus help us!" Pratt babbled with tears running down his face.

"Rook, get us the fuck out of here! Drive! Drive! Drive!." Hudson yelled, motivating me to slam my foot on the gas as we took off to Dutch's bunker.

"Jesus fucking Christ, kid! You seeing this shit? Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, get to the Goddamn bunker now!" Dutch's voice bellowed out of my radio.

"Drive! Get us to that bunker now!" Whitehorse yelled in fear. Suddenly there were two more explosions going off in the distance. Two more mushroom clouds were producing shockwaves that I knew would hit us any second. I realize that our country was under attack.

 _"This isn't happening. This isn't happening. God help us all,"_ I thought in terror and despair, tears streaming down my face.

I saw animals, trees, cars, and people on fire. I even saw a woman and a child pinned under a car, screaming in agony while they were being burned alive.

"We're going to burn to death for our sins! We're going to burn in hell for everything we've done!" Pratt screamed and began reciting the Hail Mary while Hudson and Whitehorse kept trying to shut him up.

I turned on to a dirt road and realized we were running out of road and were about to go flying.

"Oh fuck! Hang on everyone!" I shouted and we went airborne and landed roughly on a path that led to the bunker.

"We're not gonna make it... We're not gonna make it!" Pratt sobbed out, leaning forward and grabbing Whitehorse and me, momentarily distracting me.

"Pratt! Sit back and shut the fuck up! I can't concentrate!" I roared out in frustration.

"Look out! Tree!" Hudson yelled in panic. Whipping my head forward, I saw a tree falling onto the road.

"Oh shit!" I yelled, frantically slamming on the brakes, but it was too late. We crashed and I smashed my head into the steering wheel, and blacked out.

* * *

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

 _"Oh my head, what happened?"_ I thought while regaining consciousness. From what I can tell I was laying on my side feeling pain all over.

"The _others-I need to make sure they're okay."_ I immediately got up on my feet and instantly fell back down.

 _"Ow, what the fuck?"_ I thought in confusion, that's when I noticed something was wrong. My whole body felt completely different. My joints were backwards, my face was longer and I felt what appeared to be an extra appendage attached to my rear. Carefully getting up, I stayed up on all fours which, oddly, felt completely natural. I also noticed everything looked smaller and completely untouched, as if the nuclear explosions never happened.

Suddenly I realized I could smell a bird flying overhead and hear the sound of its wings whooshing through the air.

 **"Okay, What the fuck is going on?"** I asked out loud. My jaw dropped at hearing the deep and gravely sound of my voice. I looked down and instead of seeing my hands I saw giant paws.

 _"What in Gods name!? What the fuck happened to me!?"_ I thought in a panic and looked around for a reflective surface so I could see myself. I saw a lake nearby and quickly headed to it, stumbling from time to time. When I looked down and saw my reflection, I was stunned.

An eight foot tall timber wolf with grey fur stared back, it's golden eyes holding an expression of disbelief. Somewhere in my mind I knew that this wasn't a hallucination caused by the bliss because my head felt clear. I tried to reason with what I was seeing.

 _"I'm dead. That's right, I died in the crash and I'm in Heaven or in a coma,"_ I rationalized, convincing myself that everything I could see and feel was nothing more than some form of purgatory or a fucked up coma dream.

I sat back and let out a large sigh. A huge burst of wind came rushing out of my muzzle, ripping trees apart and knocking debris to the ground, causing me to recoil in shock.

 **"Holy fucking shit! Did I do that?!"** I yelped out in disbelief.

Then I narrowed my eyes and realized that this might be real. I needed to test whatever I just did. Lifting my head up I breathed in slowly and started blowing the breath out. An enormous gust of wind with the force of a hurricane came flying out of my muzzle and destroyed the ground in front of me, leaving nothing more then a huge trench behind. I stopped and stared at the devastation, feeling awe at what I just did.

 _"Did I just huff and puff and blow the fucking trees down?!"_ I thought incredulously.

I somehow have the ability to create huge gusts of wind with my breath alone.

 _What's the name of the wolf in that fairy tale? Damn, It's been a long time. Okay, from what I can recall his name starts with a B...so what's his name?"_ I thought, feeling frustrated at my lack of memory.

While I was wracking my brain, I looked at my refection in the water again and started chuckling at seeing how large I was.

 **"Man do I look big and bad. If Joseph Seed saw me now, he would be pissing himself and begging for me not to kill him."** I said with a wolfish grin. Then my eyes widened and I remembered the fable's name.

 _"The Big Bad Wolf! That's his name. God, do I feel like an idiot,"_ I thought with a grumble, wanting to hit my head against a tree out of sheer embarrassment for not remembering a famous fairy tale character.

Suddenly, I heard something approaching my location behind me and I tensed up. Slowly turning around, I saw an Arctic wolf walking toward me. I concluded from her slender but powerful form that she was female. She stopped and sat down, looking up at me in awe.

We stared at each other for what seemed like a long time. The wolf seemed to regain some of her composure and started speaking to me.

"Who are you? Are you a god?" She softly asked while still looking up at me in amazement.

I was shocked that a wolf was speaking to me in English but then I decided not to question it and accept the fact that I was probably going to see and hear some pretty unbelievable things.

I gave a chuckle and answered politely with a calm smile. **"No, I am not a god, and my name's Nathan."**

"It is a pleasure to meet you Nathan, my name is Winter." She said with a kind smile, I was surprised that she was calm considering the fact that an eight foot tall wolf was in her territory.

Then fatigue set in and I gave an impressive yawn, causing Winter to giggle at me. I felt completely exhausted by everything I had been through.

"Tired Nathan? How about I take you back to my den so you can get some rest," Winter proposed, "You look like you have been through a long journey." I widened my eyes in surprise. I wanted to know why she decided to take such a risk for a stranger.

 **"Winter, I want to know something. Why are you not afraid of me? I could be planning to kill you and take your territory for myself, so why are you being so kind to me? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for your offer, but why are you doing this? You don't know who I am, so why would you go out of your way to help a complete stranger? "** I questioned in confusion, wondering why she was doing this for me.

"Because I can tell that you don't have evil intentions. If you did, you wouldn't be speaking to me and would have just attacked me on sight. And I can see pain in your eyes, which tells me that you're a kind soul that has seen much horror and tragedy. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do," Winter confessed with a warm smile.

I didn't say anything and just laid down, the haunted expression on my face showing just how broken I was.

Winter approached me, put her head on my massive shoulder and compassionately nuzzled my neck. I immediately broke down and started sobbing, letting out all the trauma I had seen and experienced. Horrific flashbacks ran through my mind while Winter was consoling me and I knew everything was going to be alright.

Little did I know just how wrong I was.

* * *

A/n: Just in case you guys were wondering who Winter is, she is the mother of Bigby Wolf. I wanted to give her more of a role since we barely know anything about her other than the fact that she was abandoned by North Wind and she died heartbroken and alone. Based on what little I do know about her, I decided to give her a kind and compassionate personality.

Well let me know what you guys think. Leave me a review if you like or PM me.


	2. Chapter 2

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

I was following Winter back to her den so I could get some rest. After I had recovered from my breakdown, she told me that she had a mate named North that would be waiting for her when we got back. I wondered if North was a nice guy or an asshole.

 **"Is your den close?"** I asked.

"Don't worry Nathan, it's not far now and you can meet North when we get there." Winter said to me.

 **"Okay. So about North, what is he like?"** I asked curiously.

"Oh he is very sweet. He loves me very much and he would love to have company," Winter said with a smile.

 _"From what she is describing, this North character is a nice guy. But I'll have to see for myself if it's true."_ I thought.

As Winter and I were approaching a cave, I smelled a nice scent coming from her that seemed to draw me to her.

 _"She smells like a nice spring day and she looks attractive...wait! what? What the hell is wrong with me!? Ugh God, get those thoughts out of your head Nathan, she has a mate for Christ's sake and she is a wolf."_ I was disgusted by the fact that I saw a female wolf attractive.

I saw a male wolf with brown fur and blue eyes leaving the cave and when he saw Winter, he perked up before running up and licking her across her muzzle.

"Winter! You're back! I was worried that something happened to you because you were gone a long time." The male wolf said in relief.

"It's okay North, I'm fine. I was gone a long time because I was helping Nathan here." Winter explained, causing North to stare at me suspiciously.

"Winter? Are you sure that this is a good idea? We don't know who he is." North asked uncertainly.

"I'm sure North, because Nathan is a kind soul that has seen untold horrors and he needs rest." Winter said firmly, ending any kind of argument.

"I'm not doubting your judgment Winter. But I love you and it would destroy me if anything were to happen to you. But if you think this wolf means no harm then I'll believe you," North said, nuzzling Winter and they both closed their eyes contentedly.

I watched with a smile, seeing them looking so happy. When I felt a kind of protective urge rise up in me, I frowned in confusion.

 _"What is this feeling? Why do I feel like separating North from Winter by force?"_ I thought and tried to shake the urge away. North separated from Winter and started looking at me sheepishly.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to be rude. I don't know who you are or if you have good intentions. If my mate says you're a good soul then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," North said with a friendly smile.

 **"It's no trouble at all, North. You were just concerned at seeing a stranger and your mate walk up to your den. I would have been suspicious too,"** I said calmly.

"Well I'm glad you understand..." North trailed off, prompting me to introduce myself.

 **"Oh. I'm sorry, my name is Nathan Pierce."** I said.

"Nathan Pierce...sounds strange, but who am I to judge?" North said and all three of us broke out laughing.

"Okay, now that we all know each other, how about we go inside so you can get some rest, Nathan," Winter said to me.

I nodded and we all went inside the cave and I laid down and the next thing I knew, I passed out.

* * *

 _I was standing in a wasteland looking around in horror at the devastation._

 _"It's all your fault," I heard a hate-filled but familiar voice say behind me._

 _I turned around and saw my co-workers and members of the resistance on fire. They were all glaring at me._

 _"No! Please, It's not my fault! I didn't mean for this to happen!" I denied, but they all shook their heads, lunged at me and started grabbing me._

 _"You did this! Joseph Seed's not the villain...you are! You fucker!" Hudson yelled in fury before I burst into flames._

 _I was howling in agony when my surroundings changed into a black emptiness, everyone disappeared, and I was no longer on fire._

 _I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and saw an eight foot tall wolf glaring down at me coldly._

 _ **"It's all your fault,"** It said before lunging at me and mauling me. I was screaming and pleading as the wolf tore me in half, then ripped my arms and legs off. Then it stopped and simply stared at me._

 _"Someone...anyone...help me..." I gurgled out. I looked in horror at my intestines hanging out of what was left of my torso and my blood sprayed all over the wolf that had just torn me limb from limb._

 _ **"No one is coming to save you,"** the wolf said with a bloody smile. It placed a paw on my chest to hold me down, and opened it's jaws wide. As it's gaping jaws approached my face, I was cast deep into darkness and the last thing I felt was my head being ripped clean off_.

* * *

I woke up screaming in pure and uncontrollable terror before I heard two voices frantically trying to calm me down.

"Nathan! Calm down! It's just a nightmare!" I heard Winter exclaim and felt the two wolves nuzzling me, causing my heart rate to slow down. I started sobbing out of horror and guilt.

 **"It's all my fault,"** I gasped out while tears were streaming down my face.

"Nathan? What do you mean it's all your fault?" North asked me.

I wasn't able to say anything except 'it's all my fault' over and over again while North and Winter kept consoling me.

After a few minutes, I managed to calm down somewhat. Feeling completely broken, I looked at the two wolves.

"Nathan, what just happened? You were howling in your sleep. I've never heard someone in so much distress before. What were you dreaming about that would cause so much terror?" Winter questioned me.

 **"Please Winter, I don't want to talk about it, so just let it go,"** I said while trembling.

"Okay, North and I won't pry. But if you ever want to talk, we're here," Winter said in concern.

"She's right, you don't have to tell us anything unless you're ready," North said and the both of them laid down next to me to comfort me.

The two wolves fell back to sleep while I just stared blankly at the wall.

 _"I'm never going to be the same again,"_ I thought and laid my head down, hoping that I wouldn't have any more nightmares.

I couldn't get any sleep and I braced myself for a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

I was crouched in a pile of bushes, ready to pounce on a doe who was grazing in a small meadow.

It's been three weeks since I took residence in North and Winter's den and during those three weeks, I adjusted to my new form and contributed by hunting for prey. What astounded me was the fact that even though my body was completely different, I could move on all fours and use my senses naturally. It was like I had this form all my life and I was amazed at how heightened my hearing and sense of smell was. Even though I could catch the fastest deer in seconds with my large and powerful form, I enjoyed prolonging the hunt, taking my time stalking my prey.

Suddenly the doe started looking around with her ears twitching. I could smell the fear coming off of her and I knew it was time to go in for the kill. I leaped out of the bushes and charged at the doe, who immediately dashed away in the other direction with me right behind her. I was enjoying the wind rushing through my fur and seeing her futile attempt at trying to escape me.

 _"Okay, fun time's over now,"_ I thought, and used my powerful lupine muscles to lunge at the doe and tackle her to the ground.

She struggled and screamed in terror under my massive form but it was no use. I stared down at her in pity and I spoke to her gently.

 **"I'm sorry, but I need to eat. I'll make it quick and painless,"** I said. Putting my jaws on her neck, I quickly jerked my head to the right and with a sickening snap the deer went still. Carrying her on my back, I headed to the den.

* * *

North Wind was sitting in front of the den, waiting for Nathan to get back.

 _"I hope Nathan is successful in his hunt,"_ North thought. He couldn't stop thinking about the eight foot tall wolf and how he could somehow sense that Nathan wasn't what he appeared to be. Ever since North had met Nathan, he could tell that there was something different about him. As the weeks went by, North came to the conclusion that Nathan was similar to himself, a being in disguise, though he couldn't figure out what kind of being Nathan really was. He also couldn't stop thinking about Nathan waking up multiple times every night for the past three weeks screaming and sobbing in terror.

 _"He must have seen untold horrors that have deeply affected him."_ North thought in concern.

North saw Nathan approaching with a deer on his back and decided to question the giant wolf about his past. North needed to tread carefully, however, because if he pushed too hard then he could lose any friendship and trust that he had built with Nathan.

 **"North, Winter. I'm back,"** Nathan called out with a wolfish grin.

 _"I'm truly sorry Nathan, but I need to know who and what you really are,"_ North thought guiltily.

* * *

I saw North deep in thought, sitting in front of the den and I felt uneasy.

 _"Why the fuck is he staring at me like that?"_ I thought nervously.

"Nathan, I'm glad you're back. Listen, once you're done bringing our dinner inside, may we speak in private?" North asked seriously.

 _"What the hell's going on here? Why does North want to talk to me?"_ I wondered.

 **"Um, sure. Let me just bring our dinner inside and we can talk,"** I said hesitantly and went inside the den. Nodding to Winter who gave me a smile, I placed the deer on the ground, then I rejoined North who led me a few yards away from the den and he started staring at me.

 **"Okay, we're here. Now what do you want to talk about?"** I asked.

"Look Nathan, the reason that I wanted to speak with you is that these nightmares you are having are really worrying me and Winter. I can't begin to imagine what you must have been through that could make you have them so often. I sense that you may not be who you appear to be. Winter and I have come to see you as a friend and seeing you suffer like this is really concerning us. Whatever is troubling you must be very difficult so you don't need to say anything right now, but Winter and I are here for you if you ever do want to talk about it," North said with a friendly smile.

I didn't say anything and just looked down in thought. I felt guilty that I was worrying North and Winter with my nightmares, but I was touched that they saw me as a friend. I also felt somewhat nervous that North had sensed that I wasn't a wolf and realized that it was time to tell the truth.

 _"God, I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass,"_ I thought and looked back at North who was waiting patiently for my reply.

 **"Okay North, I need to tell you the truth about some things, but I need to warn you that what I'm about to say is going to sound insane so just try to keep an open mind,"** I said seriously.

North agreed. I began to tell him that I used to be human and all about my experiences in Hope County. I told him about the cult and the things they did to me and how I saw the world ending in front of me before I woke up here. Once I was finished, I saw North looking at me with sympathy and respect in his eyes.

"I am truly sorry that you went through so much Nathan, but I am amazed that you survived all of that. How did you do it?" North asked me in awe.

 **"I survived because I had something worth fighting for. I had friends and family counting on me and people were dying. Sure I was scared, but I wasn't going to just run away and let it happen,"** I said with a smile as I thought about my friends, family, co-workers, and especially my goddaughter. Then my smile disappeared and I felt the guilt rise back up again, knowing that everyone I knew was dead and everything I sacrificed for was all for nothing.

"Nathan? Are you okay?" North asked me.

 **"No, I'm not. You know why? Because even though I stopped the cult, everyone died anyways, leaving me the only one left,"** I said.

"Nathan, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen, how could you know," North said.

 **"Yes it is! I could've just walked away before we went in to arrest Joseph Seed and because of my dumbass decision to arrest him, I got millions of people killed! It's all my fault, I don't deserve to live..."** I shouted and I looked away out of guilt. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my right forearm and I yelped, quickly looking back at North in shock.

 _"Did that little bastard just fucking bite me?!"_ I thought in disbelief while North glared at me.

"Do not ever think like that Nathan! Yes, all those people died but don't start thinking that you're better off dead then alive! All those people would want you to keep fighting, they wouldn't want you to just give up like that! So keep fighting for them, that's what they deserve. It would be an insult to their memory if you gave up like that," North exclaimed.

I felt respect for North and realized that he was right. None of my friends that had died would want me to start thinking like this. They would want me to keep fighting for them, and who knows how my life will turn out. It felt like a great weight had just disappeared from my shoulders and I started smiling at North.

 **"You're right North. I can't keep living in the past. I need to focus on the future otherwise I'll drive myself insane,"** I said.

"That's good Nathan, I'm glad that you're feeling better because I haven't been honest with you," North said, causing me to start staring at him suspiciously.

 **"What are you talking about? What do you mean you haven't been honest with me?"** I questioned.

"Well you see. I'm not a wolf either. I'm actually a cardinal wind that can shapeshift into many forms. I chose this form because I fell in love with Winter," North said, and I looked at him in disbelief.

 **"Are you serious?"** I asked skeptically.

North didn't say anything but the wind around us suddenly picked up, causing me to squint my eyes.

Before my very eyes, North morphed into a tall, handsome, powerful-looking man who reminded me of a Greek God. Piercing blue eyes challenged me humorously from a chiseled face surrounded by long, flowing white hair. My mouth dropped open in shock.

 **"Well...um, I guess that answers my question."** I said in awe.

"Sorry for not warning you. I just needed to show you so you would believe it," North said with a mischievous smile.

 **"Well you certainly surprised me, that's for sure. Why are you telling me this? You have no reason to reveal to me what you are, so why are you trusting me with this?"** I questioned North.

"Because I have reason to believe that whatever force brought you here, changed you into a cardinal wind like me, and the only way to confirm that is by having you shift into a different form or use the ability to control the wind," North said and shifted back into his wolf form.

 **"Well, apparently I can blow away trees, but I don't want to destroy them so I guess I'll try shapeshifting.** **How do I change to a different form?"** I asked North, excited to discover more of what my new body could be capable of.

"It's not too difficult. Close your eyes, focus and try to picture the form you want to change into and will it to happen," North instructed me.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I pictured my human form in my mind and thought about shifting into it. Suddenly I felt the strangest sensation of being compressed and I heard bones snapping and it took me a second to realize that the sounds were coming from me. When the sounds stopped, I opened my eyes and stood up on two legs. Elated, I looked at North, only to see him staring at my chest in horror.

"North? What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked in confusion.

North didn't say anything and simply motioned his head to a nearby lake. I walked over to the lake, struggling to keep my balance and looked at my refection. As a human I was a twenty-five year old, six foot tall male with short black hair that was spiked up in the front, green eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. My face was marked with a few tiny scars and I saw multiple larger scars running across my toned torso and through the word 'wrath' that had been tattooed on my chest against my will. I turned back around to face North and could tell by the horrified look on his face that the scars on my back looked even worse than the ones on my chest.

"By God Nathan..." North said softly in disbelief with a look of sorrow in his eyes.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious under North's gaze, I focused on transforming into a wolf/human hybrid form that was upright and had arms like a human but was in most other ways more like a wolf. Shifting into this new form felt strange. Gray fur grew all over as my legs and feet stretched and snapped into long, powerful, wolf-like limbs ending in digitigrade paws. My hands shifted into a hybrid mix of some kinda clawed hands with paw pads. I turned around to see my tail growing out to a length of three feet. I looked into the lake again to watch my face extend into a full muzzle, my eyes turn golden, my ears stretch up to the top of my head and became triangular, and the rest of my head take the shape of a wolf's head. My height grew from six to seven feet tall and I grew even more toned and muscular while my abs changed from a six pack to an eight pack, then the changes stopped. I was staring at myself in awe and I started flexing my large biceps, feeling like I could pick up a car and chuck it effortlessly.

 _"Holy shit, I look like a modern day_ _werewolf. If any Peggie saw me right now, they would completely shit a brick and run away screaming in terror. I'm going to call this form my anthro stage,"_ I thought in glee.

Suddenly I heard North clearing his throat, I turned around and saw him looking at me with a 'really?' expression, causing me to chuckle sheepishly.

"Okay, if you're done admiring yourself, we should head back to the den before Winter starts getting worried about us," North deadpanned.

I nodded and shifted back into my eight foot tall wolf form, noticing that the shifting was becoming easier.

 **"Sorry. So how did I do?"** I asked North.

"Incredible. You shifted back and forth flawlessly. Most of my kind takes days or weeks of practice before shapeshifting into many forms successfully, but you transformed near instantaneously," North said in awe.

 **"Maybe whatever caused me to wind up here somehow gave me the ability to transform into different shapes perfectly,"** I theorized as we started walking back to the den.

"It could be possible. But for now, let's get some sleep and tomorrow we'll see what the limits of your shapeshifting abilities are and how many forms you can change into," North said.

We arrived at the den and going inside, I laid down thoroughly exhausted, more tired then hungry and promptly fell asleep.

Little did I know that in a month, things were going to turn tragic for Winter and I would come to develop a burning hatred for North.


	4. Chapter 4

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

I was feeling content laying in a meadow not far from the den.

 _"God. Hard to believe that my life has turned out this way,"_ I thought happily, not wanting this feeling to end.

It has been a month since I found out that I could shapeshift into different forms. As the month went by, North taught me not only how to morph into many different shapes, but also how to control my wind powers. Before I knew it, I'd come to see North as a very close friend and whenever I see Winter, I've felt something different.

Ever since I met Winter, I couldn't get her scent out of my mind. Something about it seemed to draw me to her and I felt like nuzzling her anytime she would smile at me. I felt conflicted and had been wondering what was happening to me.

 _"What the fuck is this feeling!? God, I feel like I'm losing my mind!"_ I thought in frustration.

Suddenly I heard a howl of sorrow and I instantly stood up.

 _"Oh fuck! That howl is coming from Winter!"_ I thought, immediately rushing back to the den in a panic.

As I was fast approaching the den, my heightened hearing picked up Winter's sobbing and I feared that something horrible had happened. Winter was sitting outside, looking up at the sky with a heartbroken expression. openly crying with tears running down her muzzle. When I saw Winter, it felt like my heart was breaking in two.

 **"Winter? What's wrong? Where's North?"** I gently asked. Winter ran up to me and practically collapsed on my shoulder.

"Oh Nathan...North's gone...he left me," Winter gasped out before breaking down again.

 **"What! North abandoned you?! What in God's name would possess him to do that?!"** I yelled in disbelief.

"He said that the winds were changing and that he couldn't stay here anymore, that he needed to go back to his castle," Winter said despairingly.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was enraged that North abandoned Winter and left her heartbroken. I felt like hunting North down and ripping him apart limb from limb.

 _"That motherfucker! I cannot believe he did that to Winter! If I ever find him, I'm going to tear him apart!"_ I thought and I started growling in rage.

 **"Winter, I am truly sorry that this happened to you,"** I said and changed my height to five feet so that I could put my head on Winter's shoulder and started nuzzling her compassionately.

As Winter kept sobbing, I felt that same feeling rise up again only this time, I realized what it was.

 _"I've fallen in love with Winter. It's the only explanation that makes sense,"_ I thought, but I didn't feel disgust or denial, I felt acceptance of my feelings because I knew I couldn't have a relationship with a human and I knew that Winter was perfect for me.

I felt happy knowing that I have truly found someone to spend the rest of my life with, but I couldn't tell Winter about my feelings just yet because things were too fresh right now. I would wait to tell her until the time is right.

 _"I'll always stay by your side, my mate,"_ I thought with a smile as Winter separated from me.

"Thank you Nathan, for being there for me," Winter said.

"It's no trouble at all Winter. You helped me when I was in a very dark place. Being there for you is the least I can do," I said and shifted back to my large size.

Winter didn't say anything but just smiled at me. We went back into the den and I laid down to sleep, but before I completely fell asleep, I felt Winter curl up next to me and I drifted off with a smile.

* * *

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

I was sitting outside the den, anxiously waiting for the cubs to be born.

It has been six weeks since I discovered my feelings for Winter and developed a burning hatred for North for abandoning Winter. After seven days of giving Winter her space, I told her how I really felt about her and how it led to us mating together. I smiled as I recalled that beautiful moment.

* * *

 _I was walking back to the den feeling nervous about what could happen. If I remembered correctly, wolves mate for life so this could go two ways. On one hand, Winter could accept my feelings for her and we would be in a relationship. But on the other hand, she could refuse me and stay devoted to North and we would remain friends, in which case I would respect her wishes. I didn't want to push her into something she wasn't comfortable with and lose any kind of friendship we had. When I saw Winter sitting inside, I took a deep breath and walked over to her._

 _"Hello Nathan, are you enjoying the weather?" Winter asked me._

 _ **"Yes, it's beautiful outside"** I said with a smile._

 _"Well that's good, but why have you come to see me?" Winter asked me._

 _"Okay Nathan, time to tell her how you really feel," I thought with a gulp._

 _ **"Winter, I need to tell you something,"** I said, causing Winter to look at me curiously._

 _"Oh? What is it?" Winter asked me._

 _ **"Alright, what I need to tell you is probably not something you want to hear right now and if you feel uncomfortable in any way then tell me and I'll stop,"** I said seriously._

 _Winter nodded and I steeled myself before saying, **"Okay Winter, what I want to tell you is that ever since you found me, I've felt this attraction towards you that I couldn't get out of my mind and now I can't hold it back any longer. Winter, what I'm trying to say is that I've fallen in love with you and that I couldn't possibly live a happy life without you. Now I know that you're devoted to North and if you want to stay as friends then I understand. I just wanted to tell you how I feel about you,"** I confessed._

 _An expression of surprise crossed Winter's face before she looked away and seemed to struggle with her feelings for a few seconds. She took a deep breath and looked back at me. I braced myself, knowing that whatever decision she made would change me._

 _"It's true? You really have feelings for me?" Winter asked._

 _ **"Yes, it's true. I really do love you Winter and if you don't want to be my mate then that's fine, I'll completely understand,"** I said gently._

 _"Listen Nathan, there's something that I've been keeping from you. The truth is that I've been holding feelings for you as well and hearing you say that you want to be my mate makes me happy. So yes Nathan, I'll be your mate," Winter said with a smile._

 _ **"Thank you Winter, you have no idea how happy I am,"** I said, smiling joyfully._

 _Winter smiled, gave me a mischievous look and turned around quickly, playfully smacking her tail on my muzzle before she zipped past me out of the den. I gave chase with a wolfish grin._

 _After a few minutes of playing, I tackled Winter and nuzzled her before I let her up and she showed her rear, fanning her tail so I could smell her pheromones. My instincts in my wolf form were going nuts and my canine cock came out of my sheath. I changed my shape to five feet tall so I wouldn't hurt Winter and I mounted her, grabbing her chest with my front paws for stability. **  
**_

 _"Okay Winter, I'm going to go slow so I don't hurt you. If you feel any pain at all, tell me and I'll stop," I said gently._

 _Winter nodded at me and I adjusted myself before I gently pushed inside and slowly started thrusting, causing Winter to moan in pleasure._

 _This was incredible, feeling her vaginal walls flexing and rippling around my cock, I didn't know that a canine penis was much more sensitive then a human's. I was grunting and snarling from the pleasure that was running through my body._

 _"Faster..." Winter gasped out, and I complied by thrusting even quicker, causing Winter to moan even louder._

 _"Winter...I'm going to knot you okay? Let me know if it hurts and I'll stop," I grunted out while licking her neck._

 _Then I slowed down and I gently pushed my knot in and Winter screamed in ecstasy, I groaned at feeling the pleasure intensify and I thrusted at the speed of a jackhammer._

 _A few minutes later, I felt a wonderful feeling rise up in my balls and I knew that my orgasm was fast approaching._

 _"Winter...I'm going to..." I snarled out before my knot swelled up, tying me and Winter together and I bit down her neck, marking her as my seed shot out of my cock multiple times, causing Winter to howl in pleasure as I released into her._

 _A few seconds later, Winter lowered herself to the ground and we licked each others muzzles._

 _"Wow...that was incredible Nathan," Winter breathed out._

 _"It sure was. I love you Winter." I said and nuzzled her affectionately._

 _"I love you too," Winter said with a smile._

* * *

A few days after Winter and I had mated, she told me that she was pregnant, I was overjoyed that I was going to be a father but I didn't know if the cubs were mine or North's. Winter must have seen the look of doubt on my face and told me that the cubs were North's. I assured Winter that I would raise the cubs with her as if they were my own.

For the next few weeks, dealing with a pregnant mate was not fun. Although I had to deal with the mood swings, the strange food cravings and the fact that Winter would snap at me whenever I got too close, I knew it wasn't her fault and I still loved her.

It was not until today that her labor began and I was forced to wait outside the den so Winter would have some privacy. I had been waiting for what had seemed like forever, but had only been a few hours when I finally heard Winter call for me.

"Nathan, you can come in now," I heard Winter say, I went inside the den and what I saw made me smile proudly while tears came running down my muzzle.

Winter was laying on her side, nursing seven adorable wolf cubs. I noticed one cub, the only one with black fur, looked sickly and weak and was struggling to get to his Mother's teats.

Frowning in concern, I walked over and gently nudged the cub in the right direction until he was able to latch on and he started suckling away.

"Thank you Nathan," Winter said gratefully.

 **"It's no problem Winter,"** I said softly and looked back at the cubs.

 _"Who would have thought that I would've become a father,"_ I thought proudly.

I felt somewhat disappointed that the cubs weren't mine, but even if they weren't, I would raise them as my own and teach them everything North had taught me.

 _"I won't be like North and abandon them. I will be better than him. Winter and these cubs are my family and I'll be damned if I'm ever going to let anything happen to them,"_ I vowed internally.

Little did I know that things were going to turn tragic for me.


	5. Chapter 5

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, date unknown.

"Father, wake up," I heard the voice faintly while I was half awake, causing me to open my eyes to see one of my sons, who was a small lanky black wolf cub with golden eyes.

"Bigby...it's too early, let me sleep for a little bit," I said groggily.

"But Father, you promised that you would take us hunting today," Bigby said excitedly.

"You're right, I did say that I would take you and your brothers hunting today. Okay...fine little one, I'll get up," I said with a smile and stood up yawning. Bigby gave me a wolfish grin and he ran outside.

It had been months since Winter had given birth and being a father had been the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. For the first time in a long time, I felt myself slowly healing from my mentally scarring experiences in Hope County. I looked at Winter and frowned in concern at how weak she looked. As the months went by, I had noticed that Winter hadn't been eating well and that she seemed to be getting weaker. I felt really worried for my mate. Although she always told me that she was fine, I didn't believe her for one second.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard a commotion coming from outside. When I left the den to see what was going on I saw Bigby's brothers bullying him and I frowned in disappointment. Greyheart and Snapjaw were ganging up on Bigby, taunting him while Longtooth and the other three brothers prevented Bigby from escaping.

"Look at the big bad wolf, thinking he is mighty," Greyheart said condescendingly to his brothers, who snickered in agreement.

"Hah, that's what we should call him 'cause wee little Bigby thinks he is big and bad," Snapjaw said cruelly before he and Greyheart started biting Bigby's ears and tugging them painfully.

"Ow! You'd better learn to treat me with respect brothers, in case one day I have my fangs on your throats," Bigby exclaimed in pain.

"What's going on here?! Greyheart! Snapjaw! Leave your little brother alone!" I shouted, causing all six wolves to back away.

"We weren't doing anything, we were just playing around," Greyheart said unconvincingly.

"That's not what I just saw. If you six don't behave then I won't teach you how to change shape, are we clear?" I said sternly.

"You can't tell us what to do! You're not our Father! Mother told us stories about our real Father and we've decided not to listen to you anymore!" Snapjaw said defiantly.

"Enough! As long as I'm raising you, I am your Father and none of you are going on the hunt today because you were picking on your brother. And Snapjaw, because you gave me attitude, you will only be allowed to eat whatever is left after the rest of us are finished. You six will understand that actions have consequences and as long as you're living here, you are to behave, do you understand?" I said firmly.

"Tch fine, let's go brothers," Greyheart grumbled before he and the others went back inside the den, leaving me and Bigby alone.

"Are you okay Bigby?" I asked in concern.

"I'm okay, thank you Father. Argh, I just want to beat them up so they know what it's like," Bigby exclaimed in frustration.

"No Bigby, don't ever stoop to their level. Sure It's okay to stand up for yourself, but never use violence to solve your problems. Just tell your Mother or me if they're bullying you again, do you understand?" I said gently.

"Yes Father, I understand," Bigby said.

I smiled and we went back inside the den, only to see Bigby's brothers crowded around Winter, who was barely breathing.

 _"Oh fuck No!"_ I thought in panic.

"Winter!" I yelled in alarm as I rushed over to check on her.

"Nathan...is that you?" Winter said weakly.

"I'm right here my mate, everything's going to be okay. I'll find something to make you better again," I said frantically.

"It's too late my love...my time is quickly drawing near..." Winter trailed off and seemed to be falling asleep.

"Don't say that! You're not going to die! I'll find something to help you and you'll be fine!" I exclaimed in denial.

"It's okay Nathan...I know that I'll pass on from this world and I've accepted it. Just promise me one thing," Winter said, her voice almost a whisper.

"What is it?" I choked out while tears were running down my muzzle.

"Promise me that you'll take care of our cubs when I'm gone," Winter said, opening her eyes briefly to meet mine with a pleading look.

"I swear I will," I said and nuzzled her.

Winter gave me a loving smile before her head slumped back to the ground and her chest stopped moving.

"Winter?! Winter! Don't do this to me! Don't do this to me sweetie! No no no please. Oh God...please don't do this...please God," I choked out and laid down next to Winter sobbing in grief.

Then I lifted my head and let out a mournful howl, feeling like something was being torn from my heart and and a piece of me was dying with her. Amid my grief, I heard the cubs talking amongst themselves.

"Oh look, now Father is crying over Mother," Snapjaw pointed out to his brothers.

"She was always weak, just like little Bigby," Greyheart said coldly.

"We should go find our real Father and learn from him how to be strong and powerful with magic," Snapjaw suggested, his brothers nodding in agreement.

"So that's it? You six are going to leave your Mother just like that?" I spoke softly in fury.

"Well, she's already gone. We're leaving you and the runt. What are you going to do about it? Discipline us? We don't need to listen to whatever you say, you're not our Father," Greyheart said defiantly.

"You know what, if you want to find North so badly, go. But he betrayed your Mother, so what makes you think he won't betray you too? I'll warn you that you won't like what you find and I can't promise I'll be here when you come crawling back, begging for forgiveness," I said bitterly with a heated glare.

Greyheart scoffed and he and the other five wolves left the den, leaving me and Bigby alone. I wasn't too surprised that Bigby wasn't going with his brothers, but I wanted to know why he chose to stay.

"Bigby, why aren't you going with your brothers? Don't you want to meet your real Father?" I asked him in confusion.

"No I don't, because I hate him for leaving Mother and you are my real Father, not him," Bigby explained.

I was very touched by his innocent sincerity and it helped in a small way to ease some of the grief I was feeling.

"Thank you little one, I love you very much and you will always be my son," I said tearfully.

"What do we do now Father?" Bigby asked me.

"We should bury your Mother and then think on what to do next, okay?" I said, "Why don't we go look for a nice place that your Mother would like. You can help me pick the spot."

Bigby nodded, accepting this responsibility seriously. With a sorrowful glance back at Winter, Bigby and I left the den and set out to find the perfect spot to lay her to rest.

* * *

Some time later, Bigby and I had decided on the perfect spot on a small bluff above the nearby lake. Winter had loved spending quiet time sunbathing there, basking in the serenity of watching the wildlife around the lake.

We had returned to the den to retrieve Winter. I almost didn't want to disturb her because she seemed peacefully asleep. I reverently picked her up and gently carried her on my back to the spot we had chosen for her final resting place.

Carefully laying her down, I started digging a hole when suddenly a vulture appeared out of nowhere and started to investigate my mate's body. Knowing that others could not be far behind, I shouted and jumped at the scavenger, trying to hit it to frighten it away.

"Stay back! Get away from her!" I shouted as I moved toward the vulture to scare it away.

"Father! I'm coming!" Bigby yelled and ran toward us. I saw the vulture turn toward Bigby, and I gasped in horror, realizing the danger my son was in.

"Bigby no! Don't come over here! Go back to the den as fast as you can!" I yelled in terror.

Bigby launched himself at the vulture, trying to scare it away from his Mother's body. I saw other vultures beginning to descend, sensing that prey was present. Bigby bravely tried to fight against the scavengers but because of his small body, he couldn't stop them and was getting overwhelmed. Within seconds, vultures were beginning to attack him, pecking and clawing, causing him to yell in pain. Something in me snapped and I changed back to my eight foot tall size, snarling in fury.

 **"Get the hell away from my son and my mate you motherfuckers!"** I roared out before I started savagely ripping apart the scavengers. I wasn't thinking straight and I was seeing red, wanting to eviscerate the birds that wanted to defile my mate's body by eating her corpse. The surviving vultures tried to flee in terror but I showed no mercy by using my wind abilities. Before I knew it, all of the carrion eaters were laying on the ground, ripped to pieces and I was breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush. I immediately checked on Bigby to see if he was alright.

I was relieved to see that he had a few painful cuts on him, but that he would be fine.

 _"T_ _hank God,"_ I thought in relief.

 **"Bigby! Are you okay?!"** I exclaimed.

Bigby nodded and started looking up at my large size in astonishment.

"Wow...you look so big Father," Bigby said in awe.

 **"This is what I naturally look like my son, do you like** **it?"** I said with a wolfish grin.

"You look so big and unstoppable Father. I want to be like that, then I'll show my brothers who is big and bad, and I'll make Mr. North pay," Bigby said gleefully.

 **"Well if you want to do that, you're going to need to eat to get big and strong,"** I said.

"I know, which is why I'm going to hunt and kill something bigger every day until I'm bigger and stronger than anything," Bigby vowed.

I smiled with pride and turned back to Winter, lifting her gently and putting her in the hole. Covering the hole with dirt, I looked at the grave and nodded in satisfaction.

 _"I swear to God I'll look after Bigby, my mate,"_ I promised, staring at the grave, almost seeing her standing there. I knew I now had a driving purpose in life-to care for and raise Bigby, no matter what it would cost me.

Then my smile disappeared as I thought about North and felt hatred and the desire for vengeance rise up in me.

 _"It's all North's fault! He's the one that caused Winter's death! One day, Bigby and I will be strong enough to face North together, then we will make him pay for all the pain he has caused us,"_ I vowed internally.

I knew without any doubt in my mind that Bigby and I would encounter North some day and I smiled. I could only imagine the look on that bastard's face when we tear him to shreds, not knowing that my quest for revenge would transform Bigby into the Big Bad Wolf of legend.


	6. Chapter 6

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, 1400s.

I was eating a deer, thinking about my son Bigby and how big he's grown.

Ever since Winter died, I taught Bigby how to hunt and to kill prey. Bigby fulfilled his vow to grow and develop every day by starting out hunting from the smallest grasshopper to the largest mammal. He had grown from his small and lanky size to a six foot tall proud and fierce adult wolf.

A few months ago, Bigby had come back to the den one day and told me that he had failed to kill three little pigs that lived in three different houses. He had completely destroyed the buildings by using his newly discovered huff and puff ability, but he was disappointed that they had escaped in the confusion. I told him that everyone makes mistakes and that there would always be other prey. After our conversation, I had realized that he had just described the childhood story, "The Three Little Pigs." I chuckled at the coincidence, dismissing it because I knew that my son was not the big bad wolf.

 _"Where is he? Bigby should have been back by now"_ I thought in concern.

Suddenly I heard Bigby howling in distress and agony, forcing me to leave my kill and rush towards Bigby's location in alarm, not knowing what was happening and praying that I could make it in time to help him with whatever was harming him.

Following the sound of Bigby's cries, I found him quickly, and I saw a horrifying sight. A Woodsman was hacking Bigby's abdomen open and stuffing bricks into his stomach. Standing nearby, I saw an elderly woman in her nightgown and a little girl in a red hooded cloak, crying and covered in blood. In a blind rage, snarling in fury, I charged the Woodsman, ready to tear him apart for his attack on my son.

* * *

 _"Almost done, then I'll get my reward from that old woman,"_ The Woodsman thought as he was shoving bricks into the foul beast's stomach.

When the Woodsman had seen the elderly woman in town at the market a couple of weeks ago, he had followed her home and watched her, hoping that she would have something good for him to steal. When he heard earlier today at the market that the elderly woman's granddaughter was going to visit her with a basket of goodies, he realized that he needed to break into the house and steal the basket and rob anything else that was in the house while they were sleeping.

While watching the old woman's house, waiting for the perfect moment to break in, he had dozed off. Screaming from inside the house startled him awake. He immediately rushed inside with his axe, hoping that nothing had happened to his loot. There was no sign of the old woman, and he was momentarily stunned into immobility when he saw a giant black wolf swallowing the little girl whole. He realized in a flash of inspiration that he could save the little girl and get a reward for his good deed.

The Woodsman immediately attacked the wolf from behind, knocking it unconscious and dragging it out into the yard. With his axe, he hacked open it's abdomen, bringing it back to consciousness, howling in agony. Reaching inside the monster, he pulled the little girl out, who was to his surprise, followed by the old woman. Quickly looking around the yard for additional weapons, he spotted a pile of bricks nearby, and began to stuff them into the wolf's belly, so that he could drown the wolf in the nearby river.

Wrapping his rope around the wolf's torso to secure the bricks inside, the Woodsman was startled to hear an enraged snarl behind him. Turning, he saw an even bigger giant gray wolf charging at him from out of the forest with murder in its eyes. The Woodsman could only raise his axe to defend himself before this new wolf was upon him.

* * *

Hearing me approach, the Woodsman turned as I lunged, raising his pathetic little axe. To my surprise, the Woodsman ducked and swung his axe into my abdomen as I descended upon him. I hit the ground, roaring in agony as he fell upon me, quickly hacking me open and shoving bricks into my stomach like he had just done with Bigby.

"Nice try foul beast-thought you could ambush me while my back was turned. Well you thought wrong and now you and your kin can die together," The Woodsman taunted me while he used the last of his rope to secure the bricks in my abdomen.

I was gagging in horrific agony and unable to move when the Woodsman dragged me to the nearby river and with a grunt, shoved me with his foot into rolling down the embankment. As I was being carried away by the current, I saw the Woodsman heading back to do the same to Bigby.

* * *

Location unknown, The Hesse, The Homelands, 1400s.

Weighted down by the bricks, I didn't know how long I was submerged in the river, but if I had to guess, I would say it took about three weeks. Thankfully, due to my wind abilities, I could hold my breath long enough to shit out enough bricks to come back up to the surface. Shitting bricks for weeks was not fun, but by the time I surfaced again, my wounds were healed and I was able to swim back to dry land.

Using my powerful lupine muscles, I was able to rise to the surface of the water. When I finally surfaced, I inhaled so deeply, I almost pulled a few trees off the banks. I quickly made my way to dry land, climbing out of the river and collapsing on the grass. Breathing heavily, I heard a groan and turned to see Bigby laying nearby, looking like he was in pain.

"Oh, it hurts so much," Bigby said in agony.

I nodded and slowly got up, feeling like hell. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that we would face the Woodsman again.

As Bigby and I were laying on the riverbank, recovering from our ordeal, I thought about my time in college and how at the time I had no idea that my life was going to turn out this way.

* * *

 _Dawson Community College, Glendive, Montana, April 27, 2017._

 _I was leaning against the wall, holding a glass of whiskey, watching people dancing and getting drunk off their asses to crappy country music._

 _"God, I hate country music," I thought in irritation and took a sip from my glass, grimacing from the burning taste._

 _"I hate coming here," a gravely male voice said next to me._

 _I turned to see a man about my age. Above an impressive five o'clock shadow, his green eyes were shaded by a grey trucker's hat that covered his short black hair. Under a red leather jacket, he was wearing a white t-shirt tucked into a pair of blue jeans. A slightly worn pair of work boots completed his look. I noticed a few small scars on his face, and I wondered what had happened to him to get those scars._

 _"Really? Well I'm glad that I'm not the only one that hates coming to these things," I said and we both let out a laugh._

 _"I know right? I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name's Roger Campbell," Roger introduced himself and held out his hand._

 _"Nathan Pierce," I replied, shaking his hand._

 _"Nice to meet you Nate. So what are you studying?" Roger asked me._

 _"Criminal Justice. I'm going into Law Enforcement," I answered with a smile._

 _"Really? So, you're going to be a cop? Arresting bad guys and making the world a better place, huh? Well I hope you succeed," Roger said._

 _"Thanks. Say, have we met? You look really familiar for some reason, where are you from?" I questioned._

 _"Nowhere really, I've just been traveling cross country lately, how about you?" Roger asked me._

 _"I was born and raised in Manhattan until my Mom and I moved here when I was fourteen after my dad died," I said with a frown._

 _"Your Father died when you were fourteen? Shit, that's tough. I'm sorry to hear that," Roger said sympathetically._

 _"Nah, it's okay. He served his country well," I said as I fondly remembered my Father._

 _"Served? Your dad was a soldier?" Roger asked me._

 _"Yeah, he was a rifleman in the Army, he fought in the first Gulf War before I was born," I said proudly._

 _I didn't know why I was telling him all of this, but there was something about Roger that told me to trust him._

 _"Forgive me if this is personal, but how did he die?" Roger asked me._

 _"He died after he was accidentally exposed to some chemicals that he was transporting for disposal at the base where he was stationed," I said sorrowfully._

 _"Damn, I'm really sorry, how did that happen?" Roger said._

 _"The people who were responsible didn't seal the container fully and my dad unknowingly breathed in the toxic fumes. His lungs were damaged by the exposure and he was waiting for a lung transplant when he died. The only thing the doctors could do was keep him comfortable until he passed on," I said._

 _"Christ, what about the ones responsible? What happened to them?" Roger asked me._

 _"They were court-martialed for negligence and dishonorably discharged. After my Father passed away, my Mother didn't want to stay in New York anymore and we moved back here so she could be closer to her family" I said._

 _"Well I'm glad that the people responsible for your Father's death were punished for what happened. Listen Nate, there's something I need to tell you," Roger said seriously._

 _"Yeah? What is it?" I said._

 _Roger put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me. When I gazed into his eyes, I saw the look of someone that seemed far older then he appeared to be and just for a second, I could have sworn that his green eyes turned gold._

 _"Always cherish those that you care for Nathan, and be prepared for next year, never forget that," Roger said cryptically. He took his hand off my shoulder and walked away, leaving me confused._

 _"What the hell just happened?" I thought. As I thought about what Roger had said, I slowly realized that he looked like me and I quickly followed after him to get answers. By the time I exited the building, I saw Roger speeding away in a 1970s pickup truck. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to catch up to him in time, I went back inside, not knowing that I was going to enter Hell on earth next year._

* * *

 _"That was me. I don't how, but it was me,"_ I thought while Bigby and I were heading back home.

As we were walking back, I found myself thinking about Winter and how much I still missed her.

"Are you thinking about Mother?" Bigby asked me, probably recognizing the look of sorrow I got when I thought about Winter. "I still miss her too."

We had suffered so much from the loss of Winter, and I felt the familiar anger toward North rise up in me. I still wanted to face that motherfucker and make him pay for the pain that he had caused us all.

 _"Bigby has grown so much. It won't be long before we will be ready to go after North and get our revenge,"_ I thought eagerly. _"I'm really going to enjoy tearing him apart."_

I looked at Bigby and he nodded with a smile, letting me know that he had the exact same thought.

We kept walking back, knowing that someday we would get our revenge on North for the pain he caused us.

It was not until years later, that we would face North, and in the meantime, my quest for revenge was going to turn Bigby into a monster.


	7. Chapter 7

North Wind's Castle, location unknown, The Homelands, 1400s.

Bigby and I were padding down a hallway, enjoying our anticipation of the moment when we would killed North.

It had been a couple of years since our encounter with The Woodsman and during all that time, Bigby had decided to focus on humans as his choice of prey, not only to enjoy the challenge of hunting down and killing something that was as cunning as he was, but also to impress me for choosing something much more difficult to kill.

Bigby slaughtered entire towns, butchered armies, and killed a dragon with no mercy and grew from six feet to eight feet tall, becoming the Big Bad Wolf of legend.

Once, when I stumbled upon the aftermath of Bigby's carnage, I had realized with a growing horror that because of my need for revenge, I had crossed the line by turning my son from a sweet little cub to a savage monster. I knew that if Winter could see this, she would be horrified to see what we had become. It was too late to turn back, because Bigby and I had gone down a path that was completely unforgivable and we would have the blood of innocent people on our paws for the rest of our lives.

At first I thought about forgetting North and moving on from this hatred that had festered inside me, but I was in such a dark place that I couldn't let go of what North had done to us.

One time, when I looked at myself in the lake, I saw Joseph Seed looking back at me and I realized that I had become no better then him because I had brainwashed my son into following me down my path of revenge. Since I was too far gone to be redeemed, the only thing I could do was finish this.

After years of training and preparing, I knew that it was time to face North and get revenge on him for all the pain he had caused us.

Bigby and I left the forest and headed north. We traveled for weeks before eventually finding ourselves approaching a castle that was build into the side of a mountain. The temperature was dropping and the overcast sky was darkening, showing signs of a rapidly impending snowstorm. Following North's scent, we went entered the castle and encountered three little blue imps, startling them with our sudden presence.

"Hey! What are you wolves doing here?! Master North didn't invite you! Get out of here you mangy beasts!" one of the imps exclaimed. Bigby and I snarled horribly at the imps for the 'mangy beast' comment and still growling, we backed all three imps into a corner while they screamed in terror.

 **"If we weren't so focused on your Master, we would kill all three of you for your insolence. We're going to be generous by sparing your pathetic little lives but if you insult us again, we won't be so merciful next time. Now run,"** Bigby growled menacingly and all three imps ran away in fear.

Feeling satisfaction at seeing the imps running away from us, we focused on North's scent again and tracked him down to a balcony outside.

* * *

"Breeze! Mistral! Gust! Where are you!" North called out above the storm in concern for his attendant winds.

When his attendants didn't show up when he called for them, North went looking for them, hoping that nothing had happened to them.

As North was looking for his attendants, he thought about Winter, feeling guilty for having left her.

 _"Forgive me Winter,"_ North thought sorrowfully.

When his six sons showed up years ago, begging him to teach them about shapeshifting and how to control the wind, North was overjoyed that his sons wanted to learn from him but he was concerned that Winter and Nathan weren't with them. When one of his sons had told him that Winter had died and they left their brother and Nathan behind, he was heartbroken to hear that his mate had passed on from this world and that Nathan was devastated by her loss. North knew that he was the cause of his mate's death and he hated himself for it. North was worried about Nathan's mental state since his son Greyheart had told him that Nathan always expressed hatred whenever North's name was brought up. North feared for Nathan and he prayed that his friend hadn't chosen to go down a path that he could never come back from. North was horrified when he found out that his sons were planning to test their abilities by slaughtering an entire village. North couldn't talk them out of it and he regretfully banished them to the woods below so that they would learn a lesson. After that, his sons took many horrifying shapes over the years, trying to impress him, and he knew that his sons were corrupted by evil.

"Where are my attendant winds?" North asked himself in concern as he returned to the balcony.

 **"They are all hiding old man,"** A deep and gravely voice spoke out with a tone of hatred.

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, North turned around and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Nathan in all of his eight foot tall glory and a black wolf that was the same size. He knew that the black wolf must be his seventh son Bigby and he was surprised at how big he had grown.

Seeing the looks of vengeance in their eyes, North braced himself for what would happen next.

* * *

I felt no small satisfaction when I saw North staring at us with a look of surprise on his face.

"Nathan? Is that you? It's been so long my old friend," North said calmly.

 **"Not long enough I'm afraid,"** I replied evenly, feeling like I wanted to eviscerate this son of a bitch.

"I know. I see that my seventh son is with you." Turning to Bigby, North said proudly, " You've grown so much,"

 **"Yes he has. You know why we're here?"** I asked.

"You brought my son here so he could meet me, correct?" North asked me.

 **"No North, we're here so that we can get a quick meal before we leave, and our meal is standing right in front of us,"** I said menacingly.

"I see, I'm truly sorry to hear that Nathan. I had hoped that things wouldn't turn out this way. You know that I am not going down without a fight, old friend," North said regretfully.

 **"Oh I hoped you would fight back, it would make killing you much more satisfying. But I'm not going to kill you, I'm giving that honor to Bigby. If he fails, I'll finish the job myself. We're going to make you pay for the pain you caused us,"** I growled in rage.

I stayed back as Bigby lunged at North. Instantly, he was stopped in midair when North held out his hand and surrounded him with wind. With a single gesture, North sent Bigby flying away from the castle, I was shocked that my son was overpowered so easily and I tried to convince myself that Bigby had simply been caught by surprise.

 _"It was a fluke, that's right, North didn't just defeat Bigby without touching him,"_ I thought in denial.

* * *

After Bigby got his ass whooped by a simple gesture from North, I realized in horror that we were dealing with someone who was much more powerful then we had thought and the only way we could defeat him was if I fought him. I launched myself at North, determined to get my revenge. I fought like hell, but he easily overpowered every attack I could make. After a few hours of combat, Bigby found his way back and tried to join me in fighting North, only to be tossed away from the castle again. Four more times, North and I fought for hours until Bigby came back to join the fight again, and North tossed him away every single time. The next time Bigby returned, he slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

"Please cease this, I don't want to hurt either of you. I am truly sorry for what I did to Winter but Nathan, Bigby, please stop this madness, Winter wouldn't want this, so please surrender before I am forced to do something I'll regret," North pleaded to us sorrowfully.

Hearing him say my mate's name caused something in me to snap and snarling lividly, I wanted to rip out North's entrails.

 **"Don't you dare say her name you bastard! It's all your fucking fault! She's dead because of you! I'm going to rip you limb from limb!"** I roared out in grief, attacking North yet again, ready to lay out my righteous fury.

North shook his head and raised his hand, but I inhaled quickly and blew a gust of wind out, sending North flying into a wall and crashing roughly to the ground. I shifted into my anthro stage and ran at North, slashing my claws at him, forcing him to back up quickly to avoid being gutted.

As I kept swiping at him, North kept backing away to avoid a gruesome death. When North's back hit the wall, I rushed quickly at him with a bloodthirsty look on my muzzle, raising my claws to eviscerate him.

"Enough!" North yelled angrily, sending out a huge burst of wind that sent me crashing into a wall, knocking all the breath out of me. I slumped to the ground, reeling from the impact, gagging for breath. It felt like all of my ribs were broken and I could barely move.

"I told you that I didn't want to do this, but you're forcing my hand Nathan. Just give up. There is no point to this," North said sternly.

My eyes widened in fury as I let out a roar and began to shift into a much bigger shape. My fur sucked into my body as my skin morphed into black reptilian scales and my paws snapped and reformed into three-toed claws. Wings folded out from my back and lifted me into the air as my tail and my neck stretched and grew. Sharp spikes emerged all along my spine from my neck to the tip of my tail. I sprouted large, sharp horns on my newly reptilian head. My body enlarged into an enormous barrel shape with powerful back legs and devastating forelegs. When my transformation was complete, I was the size of a large building. Before North and Bigby's eyes, I had shapeshifted from an anthro wolf, to a very large and very pissed off dragon, I looked down to see North and Bigby looking up at me in awe.

"Incredible. To shapeshift into a dragon should take years, if not decades, of practice, and Nathan transformed perfectly," I heard North mumble to himself.

I glared at North and I took off into the air inhaling deeply, I saw Bigby running away in panic before fire shot out of my mouth at North's location. North's eyes widened before he was engulfed in flames. After expelling all of my breath in flames, I stared at the blaze where North had stood and let out a victorious roar. I flew down and landed on what was left of the balcony and started examining my new shape in astonishment.

 _"My God, I feel so unstoppable. That's right North, let's see you stop me now,"_ I thought gleefully. I saw Bigby approach me, staring up at my powerful new form.

 **"By God Father, you look incredible,"** Bigby said in awe.

I just grinned, enjoying my new form and I wondered how many more shapes I could change into. Years ago during my training with North, I had discovered that I could shapeshift into many species. I was able to transform not only into any kind of animal or human I could think of, but also choose gender. Now that I had discovered that I could shapeshift into different mythological species as well, I gave thanks to whoever or whatever had given me this body.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind with the force of a hurricane came out of nowhere, causing a sinking feeling to form in the pit of my stomach.

I looked at where I had last seen North and saw him in the form of a white dragon. Glaring at me, he roared out in fury.

 _"Jesus fucking Christ! What the hell is he made of?! How hard can it be to kill someone?!"_ I thought incredulously.

 **"This is really becoming tedious Nathan! I'm giving you one last chance to surrender now or you'll give me no other choice but to make you surrender by force!"** North yelled at me in frustration.

I gave a stubborn snarl and I flew at North, ready to dish out pain.

 **"So be it,"** North said in disappointment before he charged at me. When we collided, a huge shockwave rippled out into the surrounding countryside, flattening trees as far as I could see.

* * *

Some time later, I was back in my wolf form, panting and gasping in exhaustion from the continuous fighting. Even though I healed quickly, I was covered in cuts and bruises. North was looking no better. He was breathing hard and trying to stay on his feet. It had been days of non-stop fighting. I had taken many different shapes to try to get an advantage over North. When that hadn't worked, I had used my wind abilities to try and blow North away but he had held his ground. North had tried to use the same tactics on me, but I just wouldn't go down. Now we were barely standing and about to pass out.

"For the love of God Nathan! Can't you see this is pointless?! We're not getting anywhere with this fight! Just stop...please!" North begged me.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. We were too equally matched and this fight was completely pointless. As I thought about Winter, I realized that getting revenge wasn't worth it anymore and that what I was doing was an insult to her memory.

 _"Oh God, what have I become? Winter wouldn't want this. I'm so sorry my mate, please forgive me,"_ I thought regretfully with tears running down my muzzle.

 **"You're right North, this is stupid. This isn't solving anything. I'm done,"** I said in defeat.

"Thank you Nathan. For what it's worth, I am truly sorry," North said.

I nodded and we turned to Bigby who looked shocked that we had stopped fighting.

 **"Father, why are you stopping? I thought we were going to make North pay?"** Bigby questioned in confusion.

 **"Bigby listen. I was wrong about so many things. I realized that this is not what your Mother would want and she would be devastated to see what we've become. I was so angry and hateful after your Mother passed and now I realize that because of my hatred I never recovered from my grief. I took us down on this foolish path of revenge and turned you into a monster because of it. I'm so sorry Bigby, I failed you and I failed your Mother, please forgive me,"** I said, sobbing brokenly.

Bigby didn't say anything but just put his head on my shoulder to comfort me.

After a few minutes of breaking down, I managed to recover and Bigby and I looked at North, who was watching us sympathetically.

"You know you two can stay. You're family and you're always welcome here," North suggested, but Bigby and I shook our heads.

 **"I'm sorry North but we can't, things are too fresh right now and we still hold a lot of resentment toward you. I may be willing to let bygones be bygones but I still won't forget what you did to Winter. Maybe we'll visit when the time is right but right now, I just want to go home,"** I said with a frown.

North nodded, letting me know that he understood that I needed space. Bigby and I left the castle feeling beaten but I knew that one day we would meet North again under better terms.


	8. Chapter 8

The Black Forest, The Hesse, The Homelands, 1400s.

I was startled awake when my heightened hearing picked up noises of people screaming and dying. I could also smell smoke coming from outside of the forest.

 _"What the fuck is going on?!"_ I thought in alarm.

I quickly got up and woke Bigby. After explaining the situation, we rushed to the entrance of the forest to see what all the commotion was. What we saw when we reached the town was horrifying.

The entire village was under siege by many people wearing armor. They were dragging people out of houses, throwing them into cages, and ransacking the town, I felt sick when I saw that anyone resisting or running was being killed by invaders with swords and arrows. People that didn't resist were shackled and taken roughly out of the village to a nearby military camp.

 _"Holy shit, It's a god_ _damn invasion,"_ I thought in horror.

Suddenly, a trio of solders spotted us and immediately pulled out their swords before charging at us.

My eyes widened at the clearly suicidal move and Bigby and I reacted by slashing and ripping apart the armored men with our claws and teeth. I tasted something revolting and immediately started gagging and spitting out their blood in disgust.

 _"Ugh! What the fuck?! Their blood and flesh tastes like shit!"_ I thought, feeling like I wanted to vomit.

I shifted into my anthro stage and took the helmet off the one of the dead solders to see what we were dealing with and I saw the man had green warty skin and pointy ears along with tusks for teeth.

I was surprised that I was staring at a goblin and I looked at Bigby and said, **"Bigby, we need to figure out what's happening. As soon as night falls, we should sneak into their camp and find out who these people work for."**

Bigby agreed so we waited for hours until it was time to move inside the camp. Memories of me liberating outposts in Hope County came back and I felt like I was back in my element again while we were sneaking past patrols and guard posts. We stopped at a large tent. I focused my hearing and heard a few men talking about someone called the Emperor, who along with his armies was taking over towns and cities by force. I realized that this invasion was happening everywhere and it felt like I was seeing Hope County being taken over again.

I motioned to Bigby that we should leave. We had started sneaking out of the camp when a guard came from out of nowhere and he spotted us.

"What in God's name! Monsters! We've got..." The guard cried out before I shut him up by decapitating him with a swipe of my paw. All hell broke loose when the men came out of the tent to investigate the commotion, they saw us and screamed in terror.

 _"Oh shit!"_ I thought frantically, _"To hell with it!"_ In our haste to escape the encampment, I started attacking any solder I saw. It was not fun getting shot by arrows and being stabbed by swords and daggers, but one of the perks of having all the powers of a cardinal wind is that no mortal weapon can kill me. Although they can't kill me, that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt getting shot and stabbed.

Bigby and I managed to escape the camp and we rushed through the forest arriving back at the den.

 **"Okay, that was way too close,"** I said in relief and started pulling out arrows with my teeth that were painfully stuck in my body.

 **"What do we do now Father? All those humans and beasts will be coming after us for what we did,"** Bigby asked me.

 _"Whatever is going on seems to have spread everywhere and it's only a matter of time before this Emperor sends armies after us in retaliation for what we did in that camp. The only thing to do is to fight back and make those bastards realize that they picked a fight with the wrong wolves,"_ I thought.

I told Bigby my plan and he agreed, so we started preparing ourselves for the impending confrontation.

* * *

Location unknown, The homelands, 1400s.

Years later, I was watching a bunch of captives being led roughly down a path while Bigby and I were crouched in pair of bushes nearby.

It had been many years since we had declared war on the Emperor and during that time, we had built quite a reputation by causing so much grief and terror to the Emperor's armies. Traveling far and wide, not only to sabotage supplies but also to eliminate high ranking troops, we saw how far the Emperor had conquered. Soldiers were literally everywhere. There were patrols in forests, in towns, and in cities brutally keeping people in line. Seeing all of it reminded me of Hope County and I was outraged that all these innocent people were being oppressed in such a horrific way. I had once vowed to myself that we would liberate these people from the Emperor, no matter how long it takes, and although it had already been many years, we were still fighting as hard as we could.

Because of our interference, the Emperor had sent men, goblins, trolls, sorcerers, warlocks, and I shit you not, giants and dragons after us, but Bigby and I showed no mercy. One time we captured a General for interrogation and he had the gall to suggest to us that we join them. He tried to convince us that if we did, we would have power and wealth the likes of which we had never seen and we would command entire armies. Bigby and I respectfully declined his offer by ripping his fucking head off and we continued our war against the Empire. One day, we followed a witch who was trying to escape the Empire to a gate that led to another realm. Bigby and I decided to really piss off the Emperor by leading many others that were fleeing the Empire though the gate, which leads us to where we are now.

I smelled the air for any enemies since this was not the first time the Empire tried to ambush us by using prisoners as bait. When I didn't smell anything, I let Bigby know it was all clear with a nod, Bigby nodded back and we stealthily approached the line of captives from behind and got ready to attack the rear guards.

* * *

Snow White was comforting her sister Rose Red while they were being taken to God knows where. She inwardly cursed herself for letting her guard down and getting captured by a patrol. When Snow and her sister heard about a gate guarded by two monstrous beings that led to another realm. While traveling to the gate's location, they had been captured by a patrol.

 _"I can't believe I got careless and got us captured. Forgive me Rose,"_ Snow thought guiltily. Even though she and her sister were on bad terms right now, she still wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Suddenly Snow was startled when she heard screaming coming from behind her and turned around to see what the commotion was. She paled when she saw two huge black and gray wolves tearing apart the Emperor's forces with a frightening speed. The other captives were panicking and trying to flee but they couldn't get far because of the chains that were attached to their ankles and they just cowered in fear. When the wolves were done slaughtering the men, they turned their attention to Snow and the other prisoners.

Snow quickly looked around for a weapon and grabbed a sword that was lying on the ground. She brandished it in a threatening manner.

"Stay back foul beasts! My former husband taught me well on how to use this!" Snow shouted, hoping that the wolves would go away.

* * *

I couldn't help but feel amusement at seeing the woman with coal black hair holding a bloody sword, trying to look threatening.

 **"Put the sword down, we're not going to hurt you. Unless you want us to?"** I said calmly with a wolfish grin.

"What?! No! Just don't eat us," The woman exclaimed.

 **"Relax, we're not going to eat you or those other humans that are cowering. We're going to free you all from your bindings and take you to the gate that you most likely know about. Judging by your accent, you and your sibling must have traveled far and wide to escape the Empire,"** Bigby said.

"I'm surprised that you both know it so well," The red haired sibling spoke up.

 **"We not only know of it, we're the only ones that can still find it. The witch that made the gate is long gone. She passed through it to safety years ago. And because she didn't want the Emperor's minions following her, she cast spells and put glamours over the gate that would make it unable to be found by normal means. We can lead you all there because we marked the way to the gate while we were secretly following the old woman that day,"** I said.

"Then you both must be the great and terrible guardians we have heard about," The woman with black hair said in surprise.

 **"You sound like you were expecting someone else,"** Bigby said.

"We'd heard that you two were monsters that had three heads and would turn people into stone just by looking at them," The red haired sibling replied.

I scoffed at the ridiculousness of what I had just heard and said, **"We may seem like monsters, but don't believe everything you hear. Stories do tend to grow unbelievable over time,"**

"And what about the legend of you both charging a price so that refugees can pass though the gate and into the unreachable world? Is that false as well?" The black haired woman asked us.

 **"Well it's not a payment but more like a precaution. The Emperor and his sorcerers have many clever ways to disguise his agents. He'd often tried to have one slip past us, and there's only one way to tell whether you all are genuine refugees, or more of his minions in sheep's clothing,"** I said seriously.

"And what would that be?" The woman hesitantly asked.

 **"The only way to find out is by tasting a little of your flesh. No matter what shape they had before, or what form they present themselves, all of his minions have an unmistakable foul taste to their flesh. Since you and your sibling are so fair, you'll want to pick a spot where the scar won't show,"** Bigby said.

"How do we know that we can trust you two?" The black haired woman asked skeptically.

 **"You have a right to be cautious, but whatever decision you want to make, you need to do it fast because reinforcements sent by the Emperor may show up and we'd rather you not get caught in the fighting if we can help it,"** I said urgently.

The woman looked uncertain at first, seeming to struggle for a couple of seconds with making a decision but then she lowered the sword and looked at us.

"I have made a decision, we'll do it," The woman said in conviction and she lifted her arm.

 **"Alright, now hold still. This will only hurt a little bit,"** Bigby said before he leaned his head down and gave a nip, causing the woman to hiss in pain as his teeth sunk into her flesh.

Bigby lifted his head back up and gave me a nod, letting me know that she was not with the Emperor and I gave a sigh of relief before I gestured to him to continue. Bigby tasted the flesh of everyone and he let me know that none of them tasted foul. We put our teeth on the chains and with our powerful jaws we broke them, freeing all the captives. Some tried to flee but Bigby and I herded them back into a terrified group.

 **"Okay, you're all free. Now follow us quickly, more solders might show up and things will get ugly if that were to happen,"** I said seriously.

Bigby and I led the former captives to a large cave that was in the forest a mile from the path.

 **"Here's the gate, just go through and don't stop for anything,"** Bigby said.

"Thank you for helping us great ones, we are in your debt," The woman with black hair said gratefully.

 **"You don't need to owe us. As long as we keep frustrating the Emperor and his armies, we will be just fine with your thanks,"** I said with a wolfish grin.

"Still, thank you for helping us. What are your names?" The woman asked us.

 **"My name is Bigby Wolf and my Father's name is Nathan Pierce,"** Bigby introduced.

"It's nice to meet you both. My name is Snow White and this is my sister Rose Red." Snow said to us.

 **"Well, it's nice to know the name of the woman that fearlessly took up a sword against us,"** I commented humorously.

"My apologizes, I didn't know that you and your kin had good intentions. Say, why don't you two come with us? You both could escape as well and live a new life on the other side of this gate. So how about it?" Snow propositioned us.

 **"I am sorry Miss White, but we can't go with you. There are still refugees that need our help. Maybe when we have led them all to this gate, we'll go through and start a new** **life. Until that happens, we will keep helping others until no more show up,"** I said with a frown.

"I see. Well that's a shame, but that is your decision. Farewell for now great ones, maybe we'll meet again one day," Snow said with a smile before she, her sister, and the other refugees went through the cave, leaving us alone.

 _"I just know we'll see her again,"_ I thought as Bigby and I went back to the path to wait for more refugees that we could help through the gate.


	9. Chapter 9

Carpathian Mountains, Europe, 1600s.

Bigby and I were moving through the forest looking for prey.

It had been two centuries since we rescued Snow White and her sister from captivity, and since then we'd led many humans and non-humans to the gate while also attacking the Emperor's troops and sabotaging supply convoys using guerrilla tactics that I learned during my two months of fighting in Hope County.

One day, we were forced to flee through the gate because it had gotten too dangerous for us to stay anymore. On the other side of the gate, we wound up in a forest and we traveled far and wide to see where we were. I was surprised when we found out that we were in Europe and that it was the sixteen hundreds. During our travels, we met a Count who was being blamed for the deaths of people that Bigby devoured. The Count, who's name was Vlad Tepes, enjoyed the notoriety and we became friends with him. Vlad once told us that there was plenty of prey in the mountains, Bigby and I went there, and we took residence ever since.

Suddenly, Bigby and I stopped cold when we heard rustling coming from the nearby underbrush and I could smell two scents, one that was familiar and the other one was not.

 **"Come out! Or we'll come over there, kill you, and my son will feast upon your corpses,"** I threatened as I glared at the underbrush.

I was surprised when I saw Snow White coming out of the underbrush, followed by an unfamiliar man who was wearing a hat that had a feather in it, and he was smoking a pipe.

"You once promised me that neither of you would eat me, Great One. Are you going to back out on that promise?" Snow asked me with a calm smile.

 **"Miss White. We weren't expecting you. You look well,"** I said pleasantly.

"Thank you Mr. Pierce. It is nice to see that you and your kin have crossed over to this world after so many years," Snow said.

 **"We had no choice. The Emperor's warlocks refined their methods of locating us over the years until it became way too dangerous for us to remain, traveling through the endless lands that have fallen under his iron rule. And since we had heard rumors of other gateways that led to this world had been discovered, we decided that our duty was done and that it was time to see what sort of place we had been sending folks to,"** Bigby explained.

"And yet you and your Father chose to remain alone in such a remote land as this place? We had trouble trying to find you," Snow said.

 **"We purposely chose a home far away from those we sent here, so we wouldn't let our hunger undo all the work we had done to save them. Here I am free to hunt the mundane people of this land while my Father hunts the wildlife. The people here are a superstitious folk that blame everything I do on some fanciful local count named Vlad who's rumored to be a fell spirit that had come back from the dead. We are usually left alone because of it and Vlad actually enjoys the notoriety. Me and my Father actually visit him from time to time. He's not a bad fellow and a good conversationalist, when we want news of the world around us,"** Bigby said with a smile.

While Bigby was conversing with Snow, I kept my eye on her companion to make sure he didn't try anything. I noticed two bulges under his coat and judging by the smell of gunpowder, I concluded that he had two guns. The man seemed to notice that I was focused on his waist, because he adjusted his coat and my suspicions were proven when I saw a glimpse of two flintlock pistols tucked into his belt. What really made me tense was the fact that I couldn't get a read on him and I was usually really good at reading people. Other than the cologne he was wearing, I couldn't smell his scent or pick up any kind of fear coming from him. The man was a puzzle and I didn't like it. Bigby and Snow stopped talking when they saw me glaring at the man with look of suspicion in my eyes and the tension in the air rose up.

 **"Who is your friend Miss White? I've noticed that he is armed and I don't like it. So how about you have your friend introduce himself, or I will rip out his throat,"** I said tensely.

"I doubt you will find my neck to your taste, but try it if you must. It won't cause any permanent harm and you'll be too close to avoid the twin shots of lead I've prepared for you and your kin," The man said without any fear at all.

"Stop it you two! We didn't come all this way just for anyone to end up shot or getting their throat ripped out!" Snow cried out.

 **"Then why are you here? It couldn't be because of old times, so what do you want with us?"** I questioned warily.

"You're right Mr. Pierce. The reason why we are here is because we have come to give you and your son a place among your kind again. Since you both have saved so many of us over the centuries, we have decided to repay the favor. We have started something in the far colonies-The New World. We've formed a community of Fables-two communities actually separated from each other, but as one in spirit and purpose. Those of us that pass as normal humans live together in a remote town called New Amsterdam, far away from the hustle and bustle of this world. Those of us that can't pass for human live in a secret colony deep in the wilderness, in a place so remote that civilization will never be able to overtake it," Snow explained.

 **"So you want us to join your community. I'm guessing that you're planning for us to stay in the non-human colony then?"** Bigby said sarcastically.

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid. Because of the monstrous acts you have committed in the Homelands, Gaffer wolf, you have been forbidden from entering the non-human colony. But since your Father helped a lot of Fables during that time, they are willing to let him in, though it will take a long time for them to trust him. Of all the creatures that escaped to this world, they fear you the most. But what we're attempting is based on the prediction of the notions of equality for all, beginning with a universal pardon of all past crimes, debts, and grievances. If one of us is singled out as not worthy of amnesty, then we're back to where we started: picking and choosing and counting up past crimes. The community is still fragile and it will surely crumble because of this division amongst us, perhaps not this year or the next, but inevitably. Since one colony won't let you in, the other one must-but you both will have to be able to pass as humans," Snow said.

 **"And there's the rub,"** I said cynically.

"It can be done, if you both want it to," Snow said and she pulled out an old knife that looked chipped and weathered, causing us to tense up.

 **"What's the knife for? This better not be a trap, because if it is, we'll make you both regret coming here,"** I threatened.

"Calm yourself Mr. Pierce, this is not a trap of any kind. This blade is tainted with an ancient magic-an enchantment that lets men walk as wolves," Snow explained in a placating tone.

 **"We have encountered those impostors once or twice, they didn't impress us,"** Bigby said.

"The witch who sold it to me at a very high price said that the enchantment should work as well in the other direction. A wolf can walk as a man," Snow said.

 **"And what makes you think we can trust you? For all we know, this could be an ambush to kill me for my deeds. So how do we know that you're telling the truth?"** Bigby asked suspiciously.

"I understand that you two are wary and you have a right to be. If you don't want to accept this offer, then I completely understand, but all I am asking is for you both to trust me," Snow said calmly.

I didn't know what to think. From what she said, it sounded really tempting, but I didn't know if this was the real deal. If we accept this deal, we could ether find a place to belong or we could find out that this community could just be another cult like Edens Gate. After thinking it over for a few minutes, Bigby and I looked at each other and nodded, I looked back at Snow and started speaking.

 **"Okay, we have thought about it and we've decided that we will join this community of yours, but you don't need to use that knife on me,"** I said.

"I'm glad that you both have accepted my offer, but what do you mean that you don't need the knife?" Snow asked me in confusion.

 **"Because I don't need that knife,"** I said. I shifted to my human form and clothes formed on me, which caused Snow to stare at me in awe.

"I am a cardinal wind that can take many shapes. Becoming human is just as easy as breathing," I said with a grin.

"Incredible. I guess that makes things easier for you to blend in Mr. Pierce. Now Mr. Wolf, I'm going to use the knife, it will only hurt for a bit," Snow said.

Bigby understandably looked hesitant at first but when I nodded, he reluctantly walked up to Snow and she stabbed him, causing Bigby to growl in pain. It took everything I had not to attack Snow and ignore my protective instincts.

After removing the knife, Snow backed up and Bigby's wound healed up before he started looking at me.

 **"What now Father? How do I transform into a human?"** Bigby asked me.

"Just focus on transforming. If it's anything like how I shapeshift, then you should be able to do it with no problem," I instructed.

Bigby nodded and he closed his eyes. Suddenly his body started snapping and shrinking as he stood up on his hind legs that shifted and popped forwards into human legs. His back paws formed into plantigrade feet. Bigby's chest morphed from its barrel-like shape into a humanoid torso that had a six pack while his forearms and front paws crunched and formed into human arms and hands. Then Bigby's tail, head, muzzle, and beautiful black fur shifted backwards until a five foot nine inch tall hairy man with collar length brown hair and a five a-clock shadow on his face stood unsteadily in front of us.

Bigby opened his eyes and I saw his eye color had changed from gold to brown. Not used to his new form, Bigby nearly fell over but I grabbed his shoulders to stabilize him.

"Thank you Father. How do you humans walk like this? I can barely stand straight," Bigby said irritability in a gravely voice.

"I know it's strange at first, changing into another shape, but you get used to it," I said gently.

"Okay. So Miss White, what do we do now?" Bigby asked.

"First order of business is to have you put some clothes on and we head for some lodgings for the night, then my companion and I will take you both to a ship that is docked in town that'll take us to New Amsterdam, where you two will speak to King Cole about getting jobs and to get to know the laws of our community," Snow replied.

 _"King Cole must be the mayor of the place,"_ I thought before I said, "Very well Miss White, lead the way. Oh and before I forget, what is the name of this community?"

"It is called Fabletown Mr. Pierce, now come along you two," Snow said, and we all left the area and walked for a short time until we arrived at a road where a horse carriage was waiting for us.

"You first milady," I said after I opened the door.

"Why thank you Mr. Pierce," Snow said with a smile as she got inside the carriage followed by her companion, Bigby, and me.

As we were driving away from our home, I thought about Fabletown and what it would be like, deciding that the only way to find out was to see it for myself.

I looked out the window, watching the trees going by and I just knew that my life was going to get more interesting from now on.


	10. Chapter 10

Location unknown, Vietnam, July 15, 1968.

I was in a Huey staring down at the treeline with a stony expression, watching out for Viet Cong troops while I was holding my M16A1 rifle.

"Two miles out. Hold your fire, gunships are prepping the L.Z," The pilot said to me and my squad.

It had been three centuries since Bigby and I accepted the offer to live in Fabletown and lately, things had gotten very interesting. When Bigby and I arrived in Fabletown, we met the Mayor who introduced himself as King Cole and he told us that because of our skills and abilities, we were given the position of Sheriff and Deputy of Fabletown's Law Enforcement. It was interesting keeping law and order in Fabletown and only two tragic things had happened. One was the murder of a Fable named Gretel-there was an investigation but Bigby and I couldn't find out who the killer was, I knew in my gut that her brother Hansel was responsible but I couldn't prove it. The only saving grace was that Hansel had been exiled from Fabletown because of other trouble that he had caused and he had since disappeared. The second tragic thing that happened was that in the 1920s, a mundane human found out about Fabletown and was about to go to the government to expose us. We had tried to appeal to his sense of fairness and ask him not to reveal what he knew about us, but after refusing to keep silent, he had escaped and we had to track him down and kill him to keep our existence secret. I had nightmares for days after that. During World War One and World War Two, Bigby left to fight and I was alone in Fabletown to keep the peace at that time. When the Vietnam War broke out and America got involved, I left Fabletown and enlisted in the US Army. After I passed basic training, I quickly rose through the ranks over five years until I became second lieutenant and was given command of my own squad that was named Python Two-Five.

My squad was a small unit. The first man was Sergeant James Kenneth, a good man who looked after our squad well when I'm not in command. Next was Corporal Wendell Redler, a calm man who stayed cool under fire-he had the unfortunate job of being our door gunner. The third man in my squad was Private First Class Cayson Walker, a religious African-American man who had been drafted into the Army, away from his wife and two kids who were waiting for him at home. The fourth man was Corporal Yandel Boyd, a quiet but serious man who was a hell of a shot with a sniper rifle. Finally there was Private Kyan Chavez. I didn't like him, he had no apparent ethics and a bad attitude that got on my nerves, He didn't take anything seriously and was always in trouble. Chavez had enlisted in the Army when a Judge had given him a choice between prison time or military service. When Chavez was assigned to my squad, he gave me the nickname Lobo which ironically means wolf in Spanish and the name stuck with me.

Our mission was to survey the land from the air and on foot, looking for any kind of identifiable buildings or weapons in use by the enemy. Those little bastards were so good at camouflage that we knew there was little chance of spotting anything, but our mission was to find anything we could.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Chavez taking his mag out of his rifle and I looked around at my men.

"Quit reading Yokel, you're missing the war," Chavez said with a grin as he tapped the mag on Boyd's helmet.

"War's already over Chavez," Boyd said with a barely tolerant look as he tucked the book away in a pocket.

"Thirty seconds, L.Z.'s hot," I heard the pilot say to us.

Walker started praying while looking at a picture of his family. When finished, he kissed the cross that was always with him on a string around his neck.

"Say one for me too Moses-pray I don't actually shoot Yokel!" Chavez said with a hearty laugh. He nudged Boyd with his elbow, and received a dark look back.

"Yeah, you'll need divine intervention on that one Brother," Walker said wryly as he racked his Remington shotgun.

Chavez turned his attention to me and said, "Hey L.T, how many gooks does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

"Oh gee, I don't know Joker. How many?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Five!" Chavez replied before he roared out in laughter.

"Ha ha, very funny Chavez. Bet you won't find it so fucking funny when it takes five of them to shove a grenade up your ass," I said sarcastically and Chavez responded by flipping me off while the others burst out laughing.

"Approaching L.Z. now," The pilot said.

"Okay people, keep your eyes open and watch the treeline! We're deep in enemy territory so safeties off," I ordered. Everyone nodded and kept their eyes trained intently on the terrain below.

Suddenly the window Walker was sitting next to shattered when gunfire rang out below, forcing him to duck his head.

"Python Two-Five, check the fire from the treeline!" The pilot said in alarm.

I looked to the right, and saw movement amongst the trees.

"I see them! Enemy contact at one o-clock! Corporal Redler, get on the gun and take them out!" I ordered.

"You heard him Cowboy! Light those pricks up!" Chavez yelled.

Redler jumped to the mounted M-60, pulled back the cocking lever to load the first round, and pushing it forward again, began firing toward the trees into the jungle below. Suddenly, heavy automatic fire came from the trees, forcing the pilot to maneuver away from the barrage of gunfire.

"Watch it! They got a fifty caliber down there!" Kenneth shouted urgently.

A short distance away, the pilot carefully descended and landed in the L.Z. clearing, where within seconds, gunfire came out of nowhere and everywhere.

"Fuck! It's an ambush! Abort! Abort!" I shouted at the pilot, who got us in the air but a stray round hit the tail rotor and we started dropping out of the sky fast.

"Shit! Firebase echo this is Python Two-Five, we've lost our tail rotor and we're going down! I repeat! Python Two-Five is going down! Oh fuck me, hold on to something!" I yelled in panic.

Everyone barely strapped in before we crashed and I was flung outside of the wreckage and into the bushes, I was knocked out when my head hit the ground.

* * *

When I regained consciousness, I got up to look around. It was dusk and I concluded that I had been out for more then a few hours. I went to the helicopter to check on my squad only to find it empty.

 _"Shit, this is bad. My men could be anywhere at this point, they must have been captured,"_ I thought and I started using my powerful sense of smell to find a trail of where my comrades had gone. When I caught Corporal Redler's scent I started following it, unslinging my M16 and praying that everyone was still alive, I had heard horror stories about American solders being brutally tortured and starved for days so that the N.V.A. could break them and get information out of them before they were executed.

 _"It's not going to happen, not on my watch. I'm going to give these bastards something to fear and then they will know true terror,"_ I thought menacingly while I was approaching a camp, only to see Sergent Kenneth being shot dead.

"Sarge!" I heard Redler cry out in horror.

 _"I'm too late, fuck!"_ I thought in frustration.

I went into a prone position and took aim at the fucker that killed Kenneth and pulled the trigger. The Charlie dropped to the ground, causing the other troops to scramble for cover, looking around frantically and shouting in panic. I used the opportunity to eliminate as many of the bastards as I could by sniping them with my M16 as they scattered. After I killed all enemy combatants, I got up and went over to Kenneth and I kneeled down to close his eyes.

"I'm sorry James, you deserve better Brother," I said solemnly. I took his ID tags and I gently put them in one of my pouches before I went over to Redler who was inside a bamboo cage staring at me in shock.

"Lieutenant Pierce?! Holy shit, you're alive Sir! I thought you were dead!" Redler exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's okay Corporal, I'm going to get you out of there. Move back," I said and I kicked the door open with my strength. Freed, Redler crawled out and went to the next cage that held a Vietnamese woman inside.

"It's okay Miss, my Lieutenant and I are going to get you out of that thing. Lieutenant! Help me get her out of here," Redler said.

I walked over and kicked the door open and the woman came out and nodded at us in appreciation.

"Thank you G.I., I am grateful for your help," The woman said in English with a smile.

Before we could even react, American fighter jets came out of nowhere and bombed the area we were still in, sending all three of us flying to the ground.

"Ugh, fuck...what the hell just happened?" I said dizzily while my ears were ringing. I slowly got up and stumbled a little bit before I went over to Redler to check on him. I noticed that he had a couple of cuts and bruises and that his clothes were a bit torn but he looked alright.

"Ohhh...sir? God...what the hell happened? Did we get just get ordinance dropped on us by fast movers?" Redler groaned out while he was clutching his shaved head.

"Yep, courtesy of our friends in the Air Force. Fucking jet jockeys. Well this mission has turned from completely fine to utterly Fubar," I said in frustration.

"What are your orders sir?" Redler asked me.

"Okay, listen up Corporal, here's what we're going to do," I said while pulling out a map, " We need to get a lay of the land before we even think of doing anything else. Now, the L.Z. is here, and judging from how far we crashed, I would say that the wreckage is here to the west. This camp is south from the crash site so that would put us here. Now that we know where we are, we need to get in touch with command to receive further orders because we have no idea where the rest of our squad is or if they're alive, but since you and Sergent Kenneth weren't killed on the spot, we have to assume that our squad mates are still alive and are being kept as P.O.W.s. So knowing the enemy, they are going to keep them alive for information which will buy us time to locate and extract them,"

"Sir, can't you just use your radio receiver to contact command?" Redler suggested to me.

"I'll try but I wouldn't get my hopes up," I keyed my radio receiver, "Firebase echo this is Python Two-Five, come in...this is second Lieutenant Nathan Pierce and Corporal Wendell Redler broadcasting, please respond," I said into my radio and at first there was static before I heard the most wonderful sound.

"This is Firebase echo. Is that you Two-Five? We were just about to give up on you. What is your status. Over" The voice on the radio said.

"Are we happy to hear you Firebase echo. Situation is Fubar, our Huey is down, we have one K.I.A, and three M.I.A. The K.I.A. is Sergent James Kenneth, and the M.I.A.s are Corporal Boyd, Private first class Walker, and Private Chavez. Need orders on how to proceed, how copy?" I said seriously.

"Solid copy Two-Five, be advised that since we got our hands full, we can't come to you. You're going to need to come to us for extraction a few miles northwest from your location. How copy?" The man replied.

"Solid copy Firebase echo, we'll be there, be advised that the rest of Two-Five that is M.I.A. is a priority before extraction," I informed.

"Roger that Two-Five, we have recently acquired Intel on three recently captured American P.O.W.s that were transported to different locations in the north, east, and west, it could be your boys, so make sure to bring them back home Two-Five," The man informed us.

"Will do Firebase echo, will contact again when ready for extraction, now going radio silent. Two-Five out," I said before I shut off the radio and turned to look at Redler.

Just when I thought things were looking up again, I saw an N.V.A. helicopter with guns attached to it approaching our location.

"Oh fuck! Enemy gunship! We need to haul ass Corporal!" I yelled.

"But what about the civilian we saved?!" Redler asked me.

I looked at where the woman was and when I saw that she was dead, I said, "She's gone Corporal, and we're gonna be next if we don't get the fuck out of here! Now run!"

We ran through the jungle as the gunship started firing at us, I was keeping my head low from the barrage of gunfire when I heard jets flying over again and a loud explosion occurred behind us. We stopped and turned around to see the gunship falling to the ground in flames.

"Holy shit...scratch one enemy helo. What now sir?" Redler asked me.

"We find the rest of our squad, get to the extraction point and head back home. I don't know about you, but I am officially done with all of this, so once we get back to base, I'm putting in a request to be discharged from the Army," I said tiredly.

"Are you sure sir? You are the best damn squad leader I have ever known. You stay calm under fire and you don't panic whenever we get ambushed. Are you sure that this is the right call?" Redler asked in concern.

"Listen Corporal...Wendell, I can't do this anymore. We've just lost Sergent Kenneth, I graduated basic with him and seeing him being executed like that is just too much for me. I have been fighting in this fucking war for five years now and there's only so much a man can take until he's had enough. As soon as we get back to base, I'm turning in my discharge papers so I can go home," I said while staring at Redler.

"Well sir, if this is your last mission, then let's give these assholes something to remember us by, Hooah?" Redler asked me with a smile.

"Hooah Brother. Let's teach these Charlie bastards that they messed with the wrong Americans, and before I forget," I said and I pulled out my M1911 pistol and gave it to Redler before I continued, " just a temporary thing until we find you better weapons and gear to replace the ones that you lost,"

"Thank you sir," Redler said while he was pulling back the slide and flicking the safety off.

We continued to move through the jungle to find our comrades, hoping that they were in one piece.

* * *

A few days later, I was approaching the extraction point with Redler, Boyd, Walker, and Chavez.

After rescuing what was left of Python Two-Five, we cleared most of the area by securing N.V.A. strongholds, destroying propaganda speakers, eliminating N.V.A. Commanders, freeing any Viet P.O.W.s, destroying anti-aircraft guns and collecting ID tags from our fallen troops. Once we were done with all of that, we headed to the extraction point which consisted of a small clearing and a few abandoned buildings. When we got there, we could see some N.V.A. troops in and around the buildings, so we hunkered down and I took out my binoculars to see what we were walking into. I nodded to the others when I saw that there were only a few of the enemy and we could easily overtake them.

"Okay heres what we're going to do, from what I can see, there are only a few of them so we are going to go in there and take them out," I was about to say more when I was interrupted.

"Hell yeah L.T. Let's kill those Charlie bastards, I'm ready when you are," Chavez said in glee.

"I wasn't finished Private. I'm willing to let this go just this once, but if you interrupt me again, you will be disciplined for interrupting a Commanding Officer, are we clear?" I said sternly.

"Yes Sir, sorry Sir," Chavez said.

"Don't be sorry Chavez, just don't let it happen again," I said with a glare before I continued, "as I was saying, we're going in there to take them out but we're gonna do it quietly. We don't know how many there are. I may have seen a few but there could be an overwhelming amount of enemy contact in there so the last thing we need is somebody going all gung ho and getting us killed, Hooah?" I asked them.

"Hooah," My squad acknowledged.

Nodding, I gave a hand signal and we moved forward to the buildings. Seeing an enemy solder taking a smoke break, I held up my fist and signaled my squad to stay put while I killed the patrol. I slowly approached the solder from behind, grabbed him and quickly broke his neck and dragged the body into some nearby bushes. Signaling to my squad to move up, we kept eliminating the patrols until we were alone and I turned on my radio to notify Command that the extraction site was clear.

"Python Two-Five to Firebase echo, do you copy?" I said into my radio.

"This is Firebase echo, what's your status Two-Five?" The man asked.

"Extraction site is clear. I say again, extraction site is clear. You are free to send a Huey to extract us. Over," I informed.

"Roger that, but be advised that we have received reports of a large enemy force moving in on your location. Looks like you stirred up quite a hornet's nest, how copy?" The man informed us.

 _"Fucking hell, this day just keeps getting better and better,"_ I thought before I said, "Solid copy Firebase echo, thanks for the warning, we'll be sure to stay alive for extraction," I said.

"Roger that, make sure you set up solid defenses 'cause from what our reports say, there are more then a couple dozen Charlie incoming and that they are none too happy," The man said.

"Acknowledged Firebase echo, Two-Five out," I said and I turned off my radio.

"What are your orders sir? It sounds like we're going to be in for one hell of a fight," Redler asked me.

"Okay people, listen up. Boyd, you climb up to the roof of the main building to provide sniper fire. Walker, you get on that fifty cal that's next to the main building, we're gonna really need that gun if we want to thin those bastards out. Redler and Chavez, you're with me, we're gonna set up at those barricades in front of the building. Understood?" I said.

Everyone nodded and we took our places. Soon, I saw N.V.A. troops charging at us.

I aimed my rifle and got ready for the fight of our lives.

* * *

I didn't know how long we had been fighting. For me it all seemed endless. Just when I thought things wouldn't get worse, they did.

"R.P.G.!" I heard Chavez announce in panic before I was sent flying by the explosion.

I was lying on the ground dazed with my ears ringing and I saw my squad frantically running over to me before they were attacked by enemy solders. Redler, Boyd, Walker, and Chavez were trying to fight them off with their fists but they were being overwhelmed and restrained, lined up on their knees with armed soldiers behind each of them.

I was picked up and dragged none too gently to the commander, where I was forced to my knees before him.

"You must be leader, you tell me your mission or you and your friends will suffer," The commander threatened in broken English.

"Nathan Pierce, Lieutenant, United States Army, Serial Number, 15892, born 26 May, 1940," I recited, only to get struck across the face with the butt of a rifle.

"No! You tell me everything about your mission or one of your friends will face the consequences!" The commander yelled.

"Nathan Pierce, Lieutenant, United States Army, Serial Number 15892, born 26 May, 1940," I repeated with a defiant glare.

The commander looked at one of his men and nodded. The enemy solder took out his knife and stabbed Walker in his shoulder, causing him to scream in agony.

"Walker! You Charlie bastards. I'm going to fucking kill you!" Chavez yelled in rage.

"Last warning! You tell me everything or you all die!" The commander shouted and he pulled out a Makarov PM and aimed it at my head.

I knew that I couldn't say anything, but if I didn't do anything, everyone in my squad would die. I realized that the only way we would get out of this, is if I shifted into my wolf form and killed every single N.V.A. solder in the area. What I was about to do would be exposing myself and I would be breaking one of Fabletown's laws but I had no choice. If I wanted to get us all out of this hell, I needed to reveal myself so that my squad could survive this.

"Fuck you Charlie!" I yelled out before I shifted into my wolf form. I leered down at the Commander who was staring up at me in paralyzed terror.

"Quai vat! Lua mo! Lua mo!" The commander yelled in terror before he started shooting at me.

"Holy fucking shit!" I heard Chavez exclaim in disbelief as I charged at the solders and started slaughtering them all.

* * *

Wendell didn't know what to believe. One second everyone was captured and the next, he saw his squad leader transform into an honest-to-God eight foot tall gray wolf that was tearing through every enemy solder in sight. The N.V.A. troops were desperately trying to kill the wolf by shooting it but the wolf kept shrugging off the bullets, Wendell realized that this was a perfect opportunity to fight back and secure the extraction point.

Wendell slammed the back of his head into his captor's stomach and he grabbed the AK47 before shooting the solder and the other captors dead.

"Come on guys, let's secure the area," Wendell said to his squad mates.

"Are we really not going to question the fact that our Lieutenant just changed into a giant fucking wolf!" Chavez exclaimed incredulously.

"Look Chavez, we'll get answers later but for right now, we need to make this place safe for the Huey to land. Walker, are you okay to keep fighting?" Redler asked him.

"I'll be fine sir," Walker grunted out while he was keeping pressure on his shoulder.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind came out of nowhere, forcing everyone to cover their heads. Wendell looked up and saw the wolf that used to be his squad leader blowing the enemy solders away.

 _"Christ almighty! Did he just huff and puff and blow the enemy away?!"_ Wendell thought in shock.

A few seconds later, the wolf stopped blowing and turned to look at everyone, causing Wendell to tense up.

* * *

I looked at my squad to see them staring at me in awe.

After a few awkward seconds, the silence was broken when Chavez started speaking.

"God damn. Safe to say I have officially seen everything now," Chavez commented.

"He's right. I think you owe us an explanation Sir," Boyd said seriously.

 **"Look, my story is too long to explain. Short version is that I'm a centuries old being that can shapeshift into many forms and control the wind, but I'm not the only non-human creature in this world. Many of us came to this world because a tyrant called The Emperor invaded our lands and took them over by force and has been using brutality to keep people in line. We live in a small hidden community where my son and I serve as the law enforcement,"** I explained.

"So this community, What's it called?" Walker asked me.

 **"It's called Fabletown,"** I said, and was surprised when Chavez started bursting out into laughter.

"Fabletown? Seriously? So let me get this straight, you're the Big Bad Wolf, right?" Chavez said sarcastically.

 **"No, my son Bigby is what you would call the Big Bad Wolf,"** I said, not liking Chavez' smartass attitude.

Redler chimed in, "So, you're really telling us that all those storybook characters that we've read about when we were kids are real? And your son really is the big bad wolf?"

"The big bad wolf?" Walker asked, "Your son is the big bad wolf? You know what, I'm not even going to question it. Since my squad leader just turned into a giant fucking wolf in front of me, I am willing to believe anything at this point," Walker said in exasperation.

 **"Okay, now that story time is over, I'm going to need you all to keep everything you witnessed here to yourselves, do you understand?"** I said seriously.

"Why sir? Don't you think people have a right to know?" Redler asked me.

 **"Listen Corporal, I've broken God knows how many laws by revealing myself and by explaining the existence of my community to all of you, you all need to keep all of this a secret because you bet your ass I'm going to be in hot water when my bosses find out about this and there will be a mass panic if the mundane world discovers our existence. Humans fear what they don't understand and they tend to ether destroy or try to control what they don't understand. Do you get what I'm saying?"** I said sternly.

"Yes sir, we understand. We'll keep this quiet," Redler said as he and the others nodded.

"Oh Hell no!" Chavez said, laughing. "I'm going to be famous for discovering a real shapeshifter! I'll be rich!"

 **"I think you should know that the last person who tried to reveal us was eliminated before they could open their mouth. Oh, and did I mention that I can't be killed? But you can..."** I implied, glaring threateningly at Chavez.

My heightened hearing picked up the extraction helicopter approaching and I shifted back to my human form.

"Damn, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Walker said in awe.

We headed toward where the Huey was landing and we all climbed inside.

"Jesus! The hell happened here? It looks like a hurricane completely tore this place up," The pilot asked us in disbelief.

"Lobo happened to it," said Chavez, collapsing into peals of hysterical laughter when he realized the irony of the nickname he had given me.

"Don't worry about it, just get us home," I said, ignoring Chavez. We took off and started heading back to base.

"Firebase echo, this is Python Two-Five. We have been extracted and are heading back to base now," I said into my radio.

"Roger that Two-Five, be advised that the Colonel wants a debrief when you arrive, how copy?" The man said.

"Solid copy Firebase echo, Two-Five out," I replied and shut my radio off and continued to look outside, feeling that Fabletown's secret would be safe with these men. What I didn't know was that in a couple of years, Bigby and I would get involved in a murder investigation that would change everything we knew about Fabletown.


	11. Chapter 11

Queens, New York City, United States of America, June 10, 1986.

In Vietnam, after I had gotten my squad back to base, we were debriefed and I put in my discharge papers. When I left the Army, I headed back to Fabletown and I continued my duties as a Sheriff's Deputy for eighteen years and nothing interesting had happened during that time.

Bigby and I were heading over to Toad's place in Queens to respond to a domestic disturbance.

Earlier tonight, Bigby and I were in our office working on paperwork when Toad called us and said that there was a commotion coming from the apartment upstairs, then he abruptly hung up the phone. After arriving at Toad's place, I knew who was causing trouble and I was not looking forward to this encounter.

Bigby and I got out of the car, and surveyed the building while Bigby pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. It was a worn down building of shabby one-room studio apartments.

"Seems pretty quiet, are you sure this is the place?" I asked, staring at the building in distaste.

"Yep, this is where Toad lives, alright." Bigby said.

We walked across the street and entered the apartment building. I felt like groaning in irritation when I saw a familiar three foot anthro toad peering up the stairs.

 _"Fucking hell Toad, really? We do not need this right now,"_ I thought in exasperation, pinching the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache forming.

"Mr. Toad," Bigby announced gruffly, causing Toad to swear under his breath as he turned around to look at us with a pleasant smile.

"Bigby! Nathan! Listen mates, I know I don't look human. It's a problem, I get it, I just stepped outside the apartment for just a second to see what kind of damage this drunk shit is doing. Just cut me a break, yeah? My glamour failed all of a sudden just before you got here. I'll get me a new one first thing in the morning," Toad said.

"Listen Toad, I know you're low on money right now but this is unacceptable," I said sternly, reaching for my handcuffs.

"Dad's right. If you can't afford to look human, you're going to the farm, it's as simple as that," Bigby said.

"C'mon fellas, you can't send me and my son up there to live with those animals," Toad pleaded.

I didn't say anything, but simply raised my right eyebrow at the irony of what Toad had just said.

"You know what I mean," Toad whined pleadingly.

"Look Toad, go see a witch. Get a glamour," I said seriously.

"Nathan, they're bleeding me dry mate. The quality of the spell goes down, but the rates keep climbing up. Do you and Bigby have any idea how much it costs to have me and my son in glamour?" Toad complained.

"Well Toad, the cheapest solution to your problem is for you to go live on the farm where you don't need a glamour," Bigby contributed helpfully.

"No, no no!" Toad assured us quickly, "I'll get a glamour right away, I promise! But you guys are killing me here."

"I'm really sorry you feel that way Toad, but we don't make the laws, we just enforce them. If you feel that strongly about it, then file a complaint at the business office, though I can guarantee that it wouldn't work. You know the law, all non-human fables are to use a glamour or they will be sent to the farm with no exceptions," I said, willing to cut him a break, but not feeling very sympathetic.

"That's right Toad, we can't give you a free pass on this. Our hands are tied," Bigby said with a frown.

"Right," Toad said disheartened.

"There's too much at stake. Whatever it costs, it's worth it. You don't want us to catch you out of a glamour again," I warned.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of glass breaking and something landed with crash just outside. Toad ducked down and covered his head in alarm. Bigby and I casually looked behind us to see a smashed up T.V. lying in the street.

"Fucking Hell! See, this is why I called you both here. You just going to stand around? Do something you two, before he completely tears up the place," Toad said in panic.

"So, what exactly are we walking into here?" Bigby asked.

"The Woodsman's on another bender. He's been going on like this for hours. He'll turn this place to dust if you let him. The man's in a fucking rage," Toad grumbled in irritation.

Then we heard a yell, a crash, and a piece of the ceiling fell to the ground, causing Toad to throw his arms up in anger.

"This is the last straw fellas, he has to go!" Toad exclaimed in frustration.

"So what set him off?" Bigby asked.

"Who knows what it is this time. Man's got a hair trigger. I tend to avoid him as much as possible," Toad said.

"When did he start drinking again?" I questioned.

"Not sure he ever stopped," Toad replied.

There was another crash, followed by a woman yelling 'Fuck you!' and I knew that Bigby and I needed to stop this before someone got badly hurt.

"I didn't know that anyone else was up there," Toad said in shock.

"Okay Toad, we're going to deal with this. In the meantime, get a glamour. Oh, and say 'hi' to T.J. for me,'" I said, as Bigby and I started up the stairs.

"Will do," I heard Toad say as he vanished into his apartment, slamming the door.

* * *

"You're gonna know who I fucking am! You hear me?! Hey! Look at me!" I heard Woody shout in rage as Bigby and I reached the hallway at the top of the stairs.

"Just stop, okay? You're drunk! Forget it, I'm outta here!" The woman yelled while I was replacing the receiver on the pay phone in the hall.

"Take a look! Take a good look! Know who I am now?! Hey! Look at me!" Woody shouted back.

"Let go of me! Get off!" The woman yelled and I heard Woody screaming in fury. I kicked the apartment door open and saw Woody and a scantily clad black-haired woman who had a purple ribbon around her neck. Woody had her by the upper arms and was shaking her as he yelled.

"Goddamn you!" Woody snarled and slapped the woman across the face.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hey!" I yelled, charging Woody and shoving him against the wall.

The woman moved toward us, laughing. Bigby stepped in front of the woman to stop her, and she yelled at Woody, "You got something on your face!"

"The fuck are you talking about you stupid cu-" Woody growled but was interrupted when the woman spat on his face as Bigby held her back. Woody was thrashing in rage, making it difficult to keep him pinned to the wall.

"I'll fucking kill you! You fuckers!" Woody threatened us.

Trying to defuse the situation, I shouted, "Okay, how about everyone calm-" and was interrupted by Woody head-butting me in the face. I stumbled back in pain, momentarily losing control of Woody. As he came toward me, I put up one hand to stop him and the other went to my gun.

"Oh, look who it is! What are you two gonna fuckin' do, huh? Get the fuck out of the way before you both get the axe again," Woody threatened.

"Whoa. Woody, calm down. You're drunk okay, think this through. If you keep going on like this, we will have no choice but to put you down," I said in a placating tone.

"Put me down? You and Wolf have got a shit fucking memory, Pierce. That's not how things went last time," Woody said with a gruff laugh.

"Yeah! Put him down!" The girl egged us on from behind Bigby.

"This isn't last time," I growled, getting into a defensive stance.

Woody threw a clumsy punch. I caught his fist and instantly turned him around, pinning his arm behind his back and getting him in a headlock with my other arm across his throat. With one leg, I hooked Woody's ankle and pulled, causing him to lose balance and fall forward, stopping his fall with his face against the wall. While I let go of Woody's wrist and grabbed for my baton, he got his legs back under him and threw himself backwards, his hard head catching me in the face again, breaking my nose and knocking me backwards onto the floor. With a quick move, Bigby lunged forward and pinned Woody's arm behind his back again. Woody tried to break out of Bigby's grip, but my son put more pressure on his wrist and Woody yelped in pain.

"You gonna calm down?" Bigby asked.

Woody just struggled harder, prompting Bigby to shove Woody into a nearby sink. Woody grabbed a straight razor that was in the sink and moved Bigby with him, as he swung wildly with his free arm.. I moved toward them, trying to get the razor away from Woody without getting sliced by it. I ducked and dodged his wild attacks while Bigby struggled to gain control. When I saw an opening, I grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the razor and Bigby and I slammed his head into the cheap sink, which shattered on impact, throwing Woody to the floor.

"You're a fucking glutton for punishment Woody," I said, while I grabbed the back of Woody's pants, dragging him up to his feet.

"Fuck you," Woody snarled in response through a face covered with blood.

I roughly shoved Woody into a bookshelf, near where the woman had been standing, watching the struggle.

"Back off asshole!" The woman exclaimed as she jumped back. Getting to his feet, Woody grabbed a lamp and clumsily tried to swing it at Bigby, missing as Bigby ducked and kicked out hard, hitting Woody's kneecap as hard as he could, causing enough pain to make Woody drop the lamp and fall to the floor again. Bigby then hauled Woody to his feet again and threw him into the sofa, which tipped over backwards, dumping Woody onto the floor yet again.

"Had enough yet?" Bigby said as we approached the sofa. I reached out to move the sofa out of the way. From underneath, Woody kicked the sofa, sending it crashing into us, knocking the breath out of me and bruising at least a couple of ribs.

Getting up off the floor, Woody said arrogantly, "At least make this a fucking challenge."

As Woody lunged at me again, I grabbed his head, forced it back and punched him in the throat. Woody grabbed his throat, stumbling back and gasping for breath. I came forward and grabbed him again, and threw him toward the bed, grabbing my baton with my free hand. After a few good blows of the baton, I picked him up again and tossed him into the stove, where Bigby grabbed a bottle and smashed it over Woody's head, knocking him to the floor again.

"Go fuck yourself," Woody growled, getting to his feet.

Bigby and I looked at each other with an "Are you fucking kidding me?" expression, and moved toward Woody, who grabbed the toaster, swinging it with all his might into Bigby's face. Bigby went down and I lunged at Woody while he chucked other small appliances at us. While I ducked, I launched myself at Woody's midsection, spearing him to the floor. Recovering quickly, we both scrambled to our feet, looking for more weapons.

At the same time, Woody and I spotted his axe leaning up against a wall. Woody got to it first and swung it hard, in an attempt to separate my head from my shoulders.

 _"Oh Hell no!"_ I thought, and Bigby and I moved out of the way as Woody swung the axe repeatedly. I tripped and fell backward, causing Woody to come at me while I was down. I saw the blade coming and rolled out of the way just in time as the axe got stuck in the floor where I had been laying. While Woody struggled to free the axe, Bigby grabbed the handle too and after a short tug of war that freed the axe, Bigby yanked it out of Woody's hands, hit him in the stomach with the handle, and knocked Woody down, gagging and sucking for breath.

Woody turned his head to insult us again, only to catch my baton across his face with a sickening crack. This time Woody stayed down.

After waiting a couple of seconds to make sure Woody didn't try anything else, I turned to look at the woman.

"You should probably get out of here," Bigby said in concern.

"I'm not leaving until I get what's mine," The woman said stubbornly.

"Yer nod geddig shid bidch! Aisle fuhged puhd yew in de gounnd! Yew heeear mee!" Woody slurred out, spitting blood.

"Hey! If you can't be nice, we're going to make you wait outside," I said sternly.

"Fuhged...shid. Yew bogue buy jaw, yew badturd!" Woody exclaimed in pain.

"And you still won't shut up. Just like a broken record," I remarked.

"Fug gyoo..." Woody retorted.

I turned from glaring at Woody back to the woman who was examining her black eye with her compact mirror.

"What the hell is going on? What happened?" Bigby asked.

"Just a little misunderstanding that turned into a real shit show. Don't worry, you two saw all the best bits," The woman said.

"Ders moar where dad cameb frumb, gurlie," Woody threatened.

"Enough! This is your last warning. If I hear another comment like that coming out of your mouth, you will be escorted out of this building in handcuffs. Are we clear?" I warned, shutting Woody up.

"Look, this is the start of a shitty night for me. I just need the money he owes me then I can go," The woman said irritably.

"Why were you with him anyway?" Bigby asked.

"These lips are sealed," The woman replied.

"Can you at least tell us your name?" I asked.

"Whatever you'd like it to be handsome," She flirted with a sultry smile and I just stared back unamused.

"Don't make this more difficult then it has to be," Bigby said with a frown.

"Sorry Sheriff, wouldn't want to add any difficulty to your night," The woman said wryly.

"Are you okay? It looks like he gave you a pretty good shiner," I asked in concern.

"I'm hunky dory. Thanks for asking," The woman said sarcastically.

"Why was he hitting you?" Bigby asked.

The woman hesitated at first before saying, "He asked me if I recognized him...knew who he was...I said I didn't., and he started beating on me. Then you two showed up and started beating on him. That about cover it, hon?" The woman said at Woody.

"I'b duh Woodsman, yooo hoaar...aye saveed liddle reeed raiding hood frum thiese...monsters...I cut thiese fuggers oben...and filled threre bellies full of...uh...bricks! And threw them in the fucking river! That's who the fuck I am, you stupid bitch!" Woody roared out in rage after he relocated his jaw and began to stand up.

"Will you excuse us for a moment Miss?" I asked politely with a pleasant smile, even though I was feeling anything but pleasant.

"By all means," The woman said with a smirk, and I nodded before looking back at Woody in fury.

"Hey! What the hell did I just say?! I said be nice or you...wait...out...side!" I roared, I charged at Woody, tackling him through the window. We bounced off a street light and went separate directions, Woody landing hard in the street and I crashed onto the roof of a car, blacking out momentarily.

* * *

The first word that came to mind when I regained consciousness was pain.

 _"Argh, my ribs! Fuck that hurt!"_ I thought in agony as I could feel a few of my broken ribs healing. I rolled down off the roof of the car and slowly got to my feet.

Having just run down the stairs to help me, Bigby said, "Jesus Dad, are you okay? That was a nasty landing."

I leaned against the wall, holding my head and looking at the caved in roof of Toad's car.

"ugh...ah shit...hey Toad," I groaned in pain at Toad, who was standing on the sidewalk, staring at the remains of his car and holding his head in horror at the damage.

"My car..." Toad whimpered in disbelief.

"Yeah...just give me a minute..." I grunted out.

"Oh no by all means. Take your time. Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything? A pillow perhaps?" Toad asked sarcastically.

"Sorry about the car. We went out the window. I aimed for the street light. Guess I missed," I said while I was still holding my head.

"I can't be mad at you two, I called and you both came to help, I can't be mad. But even when you two do help, things end up more fucked up than before," Toad grumbled bitterly.

Then I saw Woody walking up to the car, prompting Toad to say, " Well, at least you're not fucking dead."

Before I could react, Woody grabbed Bigby and threw my son against a wall and started choking him. I grabbed Woody in a choke hold, trying to pull him off my son while Bigby tried to gouge out Woody's eyes.

"Quit fucking around! I know you're fucking in there! Come on out you fucking dog! I'll put you and your Father out of you're fucking misery! You fucking mongrel! You ignorant fuck! Come on out Wolf!" Woody snarled out as I was desperately trying to save my son.

"Get the fuck off my son!" I roared and shifted my body to be stronger.

"Fuck off!" Woody growled before slamming the back of his head into my face, knocking me to the ground.

I was about to decide to hell with it and shift myself into my anthro stage to get this bastard off my son when I heard a familiar voice yell, "Move!". I turned around and saw the woman with the ribbon on her neck, holding Woody's axe and running over, looking like she was going to swing. I rolled out of the way and the woman brought the axe down on Woody's bald head, causing him to let out a cry of pain and let my son go before stumbling around and dropping to the ground like a sack of bricks a few seconds later.

I got up and glared at Woody, who was weakly attempting to crawl away, but soon slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Thanks..." Bigby gasped out while he was rubbing his throat.

"Don't mention it," The woman said with a soft smile before she knelt down and started digging through Woody's pockets.

"What are you doing?" I asked her in confusion.

"I'm just getting what he owes me. Are you two alright? I mean, he did get you both pretty hard," The woman asked us in concern.

"We'll be okay, we've been through worse," Bigby said.

The woman took out Woody's wallet, opened it, and pulled out a couple of dollar bills.

"Six dollars...great! Goddamn you!" The woman yelled in frustration before pocketing the money and kicking Woody's body to add insult to injury.

"The man's got an axe embedded in his nervous system, he's not going to be feeling any of that," I said.

"It's more for me, he'll be fine," The woman said.

"Aislle kill yew, yew fuckin' bidch..." Woody moaned out while he was struggling to get the axe out of his head.

"Let me help you with that," The woman said darkly before planting her foot on the axe and pushing it farther into Woody's head.

"Guy's having a bad day," Bigby commented.

"That makes two of us," The woman said before removing her foot from the axe and continuing, " I guess It's a good thing fables are so hard to kill."

"Suppose it is," I said while staring down at Woody coldly.

The woman walked over to the entrance of the building while Bigby and I grabbed the axe before yanking it out of Woody's head and tossing it to the side. Looking back at the woman, I saw her trying to light a cigarette but her lighter wasn't working. Bigby walked over to the woman.

"Here," Bigby said and he lit her smoke.

"Thanks..." The woman said gratefully and she blew out a puff of smoke.

"Who do you work for, really?" I asked.

"These lips are sealed...sorry," The woman said.

I couldn't help but notice the way she said those words. It was like she was being forced to say it and she also looked like she was afraid of something or someone.

The woman looked at us and she tried to change the subject by asking, "Hey, do you two like my ribbon?"

"It looks nice," I said kindly with a soft smile.

The woman smiled back but I could tell it was forced. I felt really bad for her, knowing that in her line of work, there was nothing good at the end of that road.

"Do we know each other? I feel like we've met before," Bigby asked her.

"We probably have. We all knew each other at one point or another...but things change I guess," The woman said.

"I guess," I echoed sadly as I started to recall the happy times I had with Winter before she died.

I noticed that Bigby was looking at something, I turned around and saw that Woody was gone, having left a puddle of blood behind.

"Fucking Hell. He's gone," Bigby muttered and we turned around to go after him but the woman stopped us by grabbing my arm.

"Stop. We don't have to make any more of a thing out of it then it already is," The woman said.

"He hit you. He needs to pay for that and we're not going to let him do that to anyone else," I said sternly.

"He's got nothing to give, Deputy, I checked. Besides, I just swung an axe into the guy's head, I'd say we're even," The woman said wryly with a smirk.

"Maybe we should be arresting you," Bigby said.

"I'm not going to be doing this for much longer. So now's your chance," The woman said.

Suddenly, I noticed that the woman was still holding my arm and judging from her expression of embarrassment, she noticed too and the woman quickly took her hand off my arm and things became awkward fast.

"So, how much did he owe you?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Two hundred..." The woman replied.

"And I'm guessing It'll be bad if you show up empty handed," Bigby said.

"I'll be fine," The woman said evasively.

I reached into my pocket and pulled my wallet out before taking a couple of bills out.

"Here, sixty three. It's all I got, take it," I said.

"It's okay, I'll be fine. You've done enough, really," The woman refused.

"Just take the money. I'll be happy knowing that I've helped you with this," I said stubbornly.

The woman took the money and put it away before smiling gratefully.

"You two got me out of a bad situation back there. Thanks," The woman said.

"We're still gonna need a statement," I said.

"I have to go drop off...what I have," The woman said hesitantly.

"Meet us back at the office in an hour then," Bigby said, as he was looking at his watch.

"A little late for an office visit Sheriff. I'll swing by your apartment," The woman said, causing Bigby and I to look at her in surprise.

"How do you know where I..." Bigby tried to ask.

"You live in the smallest apartment in The Woodlands, everyone knows that," The woman said.

"Good to know," Bigby said, looking creeped out.

"You two should get cleaned up. You both look like shit, and I don't use that term lightly," The woman said wryly.

"Well, It's not like we haven't looked like shit before but we clean up alright," I said humorously.

"I'll believe it when I see it...Sheriff Wolf, I need to tell you something," The woman said to Bigby.

"What is it?" Bigby asked.

The woman leaned forward and whispered into Bigby's ear, "You're not as bad as everyone says you are." Then she kissed his cheek and walked away.

"I'll see you two around," The woman said with a single wave before she turned around the corner and vanished from our line of sight.

I smiled, looking in the direction where the woman went, then I looked at Bigby.

"That was interesting... What do you say we go home?" I said.

Bigby nodded and took out a cigarette and started smoking again while we got into the car and headed back to The Woodlands. I couldn't help but feel like something terrible was about to happen.


	12. Chapter 12

Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 11, 1986.

After dealing with the situation at Toad's place, Bigby and I returned to our apartment building. We pulled up to the curb and parked outside the large gated wall that surrounded a large part of our hidden community. As we approached the gate, we saw the plaque that read "The Woodland Luxury Apartments" and Bigby scoffed, "Luxury apartments, my ass."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Son. C'mon, let's get inside," I said as we opened the gate and crossed the courtyard to our building. Although we had separate apartments on the second floor, we shared the Sheriff's office that was also on the second floor.

As Bigby and I approached the front doors, I caught the scent of cheap perfume coming from behind one of the trees to our right, and knew that it could only be one person. I could see that Bigby had also caught the scent.

I said loudly, "Come out Beauty! We know you're there."

A woman with long blond hair and light brown eyes came out from behind the tree and started walking toward us, looking sheepish.

"Hey Bigby, Nathan. I know this looks strange, but there's an explanation. Just please don't ask me what it is," Beauty said nervously.

"Why'd you hide when we came through the gates?" Bigby asked her.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else to be out this late, and I couldn't tell who it was at first. You can never be too careful these days," Beauty explained.

"Well, you're right about that," I said.

"So...you two are not planning on arresting me for stepping on the grass, are you? I know rules are rules," Beauty asked.

"What? That?" Bigby said as he pointed at the "stay off the grass" sign, then said, "That's Crane's rule. If Ichabod caught you walking near his tulips, he would be stumbling all over himself to get us to arrest you. But for us personally, we would spit on the sign if we weren't in the presence of a lady."

"Well, this lady would join you if she wasn't already running late, so I need to get moving. Listen, I want you both to promise me something. Just...please don't tell Beast that you saw me out here tonight. Promise?" Beauty asked us.

As much as I wanted to help her, I didn't want to get involved in whatever marital problems she was going through. If there was one thing I had learned over the centuries, and especially in Vietnam, it was not to get involved in something without knowing what you're walking into.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on? Is everything okay?" I asked, concerned for her safety.

"Oh no, nothing like that. I'm okay. I'll explain everything later. You both just need to understand and trust me," Beauty said hesitantly.

"What we understand is that you're going through some kind of problem right now and you're asking us to stay out of it," Bigby said.

"Bigby's right Beauty. Unless we know what's going on, I'm afraid we can't help you." I said, "you know where we are if you need us."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, " Beauty said, turning and walking away.

"Don't mention it," Bigby said.

Bigby and I went through the front doors and saw Grimble, the building's security guard, asleep, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk.

"Evening Grimble. Busy slacking off again?" I asked and got a snore in response.

Shaking my head, I noticed the golden suit of armor that was next to the desk was covered in dust.

 _"Flycatcher really needs to dust this guy,"_ I thought as Bigby and I went to our mailboxes.

"Been awhile since I got any mail," Bigby said and he opened the door, only to find nothing inside. "Seventh day in a row," he commented.

Turning away from the mailboxes, Bigby and I noticed that his name had fallen off the directory again and we groaned in annoyance at seeing it laying on the floor again.

"Damn thing fell off again," Bigby grumbled in irritation.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," I said and knelt down to pick up the name tag and put it back in it's place on the directory.

"Thank you dad. How much longer is this gonna go on?" Bigby asked wearily.

I gave a shrug in response as we went to the elevator and I pressed the up button. After a couple seconds, the doors opened and we stepped inside. I pushed the button that would take us to the second floor, then closed my eyes and sighed in exhaustion.

"Bigby! Nathan! Wait!" I heard someone yell and opened my eyes to see a man keeping the doors from closing.

"Hey, have you two seen Beauty? Or maybe passed by her on your way in?" Beast asked us urgently.

"Sorry Beast, it's not our job to keep track of every Fable in this community," I said evasively.

"Oh, okay. Sorry to have bothered you both, I was just hoping that...Damn it! Something is going on, I just know it," Beast said in frustration, as he turned to leave the building. The elevator doors closed and we headed for the second floor.

We waited patiently until a ding rang out and the doors opened.

"I'll see you tomorrow son," I said as we exited into the hallway.

Bigby nodded and we went our separate ways. I arrived at my apartment a couple of seconds later and went inside. After locking my door, I headed to the bathroom but stopped when I saw the large painting in my living room and I let out a nostalgic smile.

The painting was a beautiful scene of Winter and I sitting close and nuzzling each other as Bigby and his Brothers sat in front of our den. After a century of living in Fabletown, I had painted the picture so that Bigby and I could not only keep Winter's memory alive, but we could also look back on the good times.

 _"Wherever you are my mate, I just know you are happy,"_ I thought, continuing to the bathroom. While washing my face, I examined my refection.

I still looked very much the same as I had when I met Winter, although it had been centuries. My clothing was different now, I usually wore a long sleeved, buttoned up tan shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I wore a badge and a name tag along with arm patches that said "Fabletown Sheriffs Department" on them. My shirt was also covering not only a Kevlar vest, but also a white t-shirt. I was also wearing blue jeans along with work boots. My waist had a law enforcement duty belt that was carrying a Sig Sauer P226 in a gun holster along with an ammo pouch, handcuff pouch, flashlight holder, and a baton holder.

Kicking off my boots, I removed my duty belt, work shirt, and Kevlar vest, then laid down on the bed and was asleep in seconds.

* * *

I was startled awake when I heard someone urgently banging on the door.

"Hang on damn it, I'm coming!" I yelled in irritation, getting out of bed. I quickly put on my work shirt and duty belt, then I laced up my boots.

I walked over to the door and opened it to see Snow looking panicked.

"Snow? What are you-" I said.

"No time! Follow me!" Snow exclaimed urgently.

I followed Snow over to Bigby's apartment. Worried, I looked at Snow, wondering what had got her so shaken up. Snow frantically knocked on Bigby's door. Seconds later, Bigby opened the door and his eyes widened in surprise at seeing us.

"Snow? Dad?" Bigby said in confusion.

"Bigby! Come with us," Snow said and she walked away before Bigby and I could say anything.

Bigby gave me a questioning look but I just shook my head to let him know that I had no idea what was going on. Beyond the partially opened door, I saw a familiar pig standing behind Bigby.

"Bigby, what the hell is Colin doing here?" I asked while I was rubbing my eyes in exasperation.

"Nice to see you too Nate. I thought you would be more happy to see me," Colin said sarcastically.

Shooting him a quick glare for his smartass comment, I said, "You know what, I'm going to let go of the fact that you snuck out of The Farm again because my son and I have bigger things to worry about. Let's go Bigby."

Closing the door, we quickly caught up to Snow who was waiting impatiently. As soon as we caught up, she took off again and we followed her down the hall.

"Snow? What is it? What the hell's going on?" I questioned, but Snow didn't answer.

"Snow, talk to us," Bigby said gently in concern.

"I can't, not here. These walls are paper thin," Snow said.

"Can you at least tell us where we're going," I said as we reached the elevator.

"Down," Snow simply said, and she pushed the button, opening the doors for us to enter.

When we arrived at the Lobby, the doors opened again and we exited the elevator and followed Snow to the stairs outside. We could see that Grimble's jacket was covering something.

"Right there, just look and you'll see why I brought you here," Snow said uneasily.

Bigby and I looked at each other dubiously, then knelt down to approach the jacket cautiously. I picked up the jacket and revealed a sight that would stay with me for the rest of my life.

"Oh fuck," I said and quickly looked away out of sheer horror and disgust.

Staring blankly, it was the decapitated head of the woman from Toad's place.

"Did you two know her? The looks on your faces, it's like you both knew her," Snow said.

 _"I should have made sure she got home safe. Shit!"_ I thought in frustration.

"I wouldn't say that, we met her earlier tonight. The Woodsman attacked her at his place, he was threatening to kill her. We got the call and we broke it up," Bigby explained.

"Do you think he followed through on that?" Snow asked us.

"We don't think anything yet. Tell us everything that happened, right down to the last detail," I said seriously.

"I wish there was more to tell. I left the office and walked past Grimble's desk. Luckily for him, he is still asleep. I opened the door and I found her like this. After covering her with Grimble's jacket, I came to get you two right away," Snow explained.

"And that's all? You didn't see anyone suspicious hanging around?" I asked.

"That's it, and I didn't see anyone. Sorry," Snow apologized.

"Was anyone with you? Who else knows about this?" Bigby asked.

"Nobody, and we need to keep it that way. There hasn't been a murder in Fabletown in a long time," Snow said.

"All the more reason we need to keep this quiet until we figure out what's going on. We don't want to start a panic," I said.

I closed the woman's eyes respectfully, and covered her back up. Assessing the scene, I looked around. I saw a blood trail and said, "Bigby, there's a trail of blood leading to the alley, you go check and see if there is anything that can tell us about how this poor girl got here. I'm going to stay here and examine the scene."

Bigby nodded and started following the blood trail as I examined the head.

"Bizarre cut. Far too clean. What the hell did this to her?" I said out loud as I was looking for any clue as to what had happened.

"What could do something like this?" Snow asked me.

"Ether something extremely sharp, or something imbued with magic maybe... What the fuck?" I said when I saw something sticking out of the woman's mouth. I gingerly pulled her ring out of her mouth, followed by her ribbon.

"What is that?" Snow asked me.

"It's her ring, strung onto the ribbon she wore around her neck. Look, there's a symbol on the ring. Do you recognize this?" I asked, holding the ring up so Snow could see it.

"No. It looks like some kind of family crest from back in The Homelands. We'll have records of them back in the business office," Snow said.

I put the ring in my pocket and continued to examine the head, I couldn't help but notice the way this poor girl's head was placed.

"She was placed here with some care," I said.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked in confusion.

"You can see that she wasn't just tossed here. She was deliberately placed here for us to find," I said.

"That seems out of character for The Woodsman, right? He's not smart enough to plan something like this," Snow said.

"You're right Snow, this is the work of someone much more calculated," I agreed, just as Bigby was coming back.

"You find anything?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, I found a torn piece of fabric and the blood trail leads past the fence in the alleyway, which means that whoever did this didn't kill her here, but definitely brought her from outside The Woodland," Bigby said.

"Yes...that makes sense. Bigby, Nathan, do either of you have any theories yet?" Snow asked us.

"Okay, from what I have seen so far, I think this is a message, but I don't know yet what that message is," I deduced.

"A message I can understand, but what could the message possibly be?" Bigby asked me.

"Think about the placement of the head. Someone went to great lengths to put her here with care, knowing that we would start an investigation. Somebody put her here because they knew we would start an investigation," I said.

"You're right. Whoever brought the head here is trying to tell you something. They want you to look into it. Good work Deputy," Snow praised me.

"We should get inside," Bigby said. I carefully wrapped the woman's head up in the jacket and all three of us went back inside.

Looking at Grimble, who was still snoring loudly, Snow said, "This is the first time I'm actually glad that he's sleeping on the job. Remember, the fewer people that know about this the better."

"Even Crane?" Bigby asked hopefully.

"I know that you and Nathan don't like him, but as long as King Cole is away, he's the acting Mayor so it's better to just to get it over with and let him in on it," Snow said decisively.

"You know that he's going to get in the way of our investigation. We just don't want him interfering," I said in displeasure.

"I know. Go wake up Doctor Swineheart, he can take a look at her. I'll meet you two at the business office in an hour. The sun will be up by then," Snow said to us.

* * *

An hour later, Bigby and I returned from Dr. Swineheart's office to find a long line of Fables waiting outside the business office. As we approached, a Fable I knew well spoke up.

"Hey! There's a line here you know! What are you two, blind?! People cutting in line?! I've been waiting for an hour already!" The Fable who I know as Grendel, shouted at us.

"Look Gren, I'm sorry that it's taking too long but please don't take it out on us. We just work here," I said calmly.

"Nate," Gren said while nodding at me before looking at my son and saying mockingly, " and Bigby Wolf, is that you? I didn't recognize you standing on two legs. Woof Woof, am I right?"

"Ha ha, really fucking funny Gren, but don't quit your day job just yet. You do have a day job, don't you? Or is that why you're here again, to sign up for unemployment," Bigby said unamused.

"Hey! Listen, it's not my fault I can't get work out in the Mundy world. This whole "violent tendencies" thing they have on me is complete fucking bullshit! The rules say I can only work for Fables and they aren't hiring!" Gren complained to us.

"Maybe that's because they don't know the real you. It's just a thought," I said in a placating tone.

"It's not my fault Nate, you know that," Gren said.

"Look Gren, I'm sorry that you feel so frustrated, but you need to get a job to pay your bills like everyone else. We don't make the laws, we just enforce them. If you feel so strongly about it, you can complain to someone in the business office. Beyond that, there's nothing we can do," I said sympathetically.

"Oh yeah, like who? You think any of these stuck up pricks gives a shit about me. Like Bluebeard or Beauty and Beast? Those guys who smuggled their entire fortunes with them from The Homelands, must be really tough for those guys, picking out China patterns and other crap," Gren said bitterly.

"I'm really sorry you feel that way. Look, we have a meeting to get to, just hang in there okay," I said as I patted Gren on the shoulder, then Bigby and I walked into the Business office and over toward Crane's desk. When I heard Crane already yelling at Snow, I just knew that this was going to be unpleasant.

"...Because you are the one bringing this to me Miss Snow! The one who so simply "stumbled" upon this catastrophe on our very doorstep! The last thing I need with Mayor Cole away is mass hysteria! So what's next Miss White?! Mouse police on the take from Lilliputian Mafioso?! Kiddie porn being distributed out of a giant's shoe?!" Crane shouted at Snow, who was trying to keep herself from yelling back.

"That's enough Crane!" I shouted. "It's not her fault. Instead of assigning blame, how about we focus all that anger into catching the fucker who did this."

"Ah, Sheriff, Deputy, Glad you two could join us! Both of you are charged with protecting the citizens of Fabletown. Your failure to do so tonight cost a woman, however undesirable she may have been, her life and placed the safety of our entire community at risk! Tell me you two have been doing something. Are there any leads? Suspects? Anything? Anything at all? Any shred of evidence that you all know what the hell you're doing? Because I have half a mind to fire all three of you," Crane demanded.

"The Woodsman is a person of interest. From what we could gather, he was the last known person with the victim," Bigby said.

"Then find him! Get him in here, if that's what you both have to go on!" Crane said loudly.

"It's a lead but nothing's certain yet," Snow tried to pitch in but was ignored.

"Snow! Call Vivien right this minute and let her know that I'm coming in early for my massage," Crane barked at her.

 _"Seriously? It's barely daylight and he's already done for today?"_ I thought incredulously.

"You three need to deal with this quickly and quietly. The last thing we need is all of Fabletown knowing there's a killer amongst us," Crane lectured.

"We know Sir, we-" Snow said, but was rudely interrupted.

"And where is the bottle of Sherry I asked for?" Crane asked impatiently.

"Sherry? I left it on your desk," Snow said in confusion.

"Do you see it on my desk? The bottle of wine in question is a Massandra from 1775. It's the oldest of it's kind in the world and you've gone and lost it? How can I expect you to track down a killer if you can't even keep track of a bottle of fortified wine? So called "assistant" can't do anything right," Crane muttered under his breath as he was walking away.

"Hey Crane!" Bigby shouted in anger. I put my hand on Bigby's shoulder as a clear message for him to calm down.

"Yes, what is it?" Crane asked as he was looking at us with a raised eyebrow.

"We'll handle it Sir," I said, hoping that he would just go away.

"See that you both do for a change Deputy, or I'll find employees that will," Crane threatened before leaving the room.

"You would have just pissed him off even more and I would rather that we didn't have to deal with that kind of headache right now," I said to Bigby.

"Alright," Bigby said.

"Well, that could have gone better. Maybe we should have waited until we had more to tell him," Snow said in irritation.

"Nah, it's okay, you were just doing your job. And I doubt it would have made a difference even if we did have more to go on, he was still going to be an annoying bastard anyways," I said bitterly.

"True, thank you Nathan," Snow said gratefully.

Bigby took out another smoke and was about to light it until Snow said, "Oh, Crane doesn't like people smoking in-" causing Bigby to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Nevermind, smoke away," Snow said, and Bigby lit up, dragged heavily, and blew a large cloud of smoke over Crane's desk, then tapped his ashes into Crane's coffee mug.

"God, what an asshole," Bigby grumbled in irritation.

"Yep, that was about an eight on the asshole scale," Snow said.

"Nah, I would give it a ten," I commented and we all laughed and broke the tension.

Suddenly we heard wings behind us. I turned around to see a green monkey flying into the room toward us and landing awkwardly on a desk, sending a lamp and various other objects crashing to the floor.

"Is he gone? Oh that's a shame. I was playing a delightful drinking game. I drank every time he said something I wished I hadn't heard, and as you can Imagine, I am thoroughly sloshed right now," The monkey said with a goofy smile, holding up a near empty bottle.

"Bufkin! Is that Crane's Sherry you're guzzling? He'd have your head on a spike if he knew you'd stolen that," Snow said sternly.

"I know, Miss Snow. And I know we've had this talk about me "Borrowing" things before..." Bufkin slurred, making sloppy air quotes. Bigby walked over and took the bottle out of Bufkin's hand.

"A career criminal confessing his latest felony to the Sheriff and his Deputy. Seems like an open and shut case," Bigby said with a wolfish grin.

"You won't tell Crane, will you Mr. Bigby? Or you Mr. Nathan?" Bufkin asked us nervously.

"It'd be hard to do since I'm aiding and abetting," Bigby said and he took a swig of the bottle.

"I saw nothing." I simply said.

"Much obliged you two. You know Mr. Bigby, you are not as bad as everyone says you are," Bufkin said.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately," Bigby remarked as he gave the wine back to Bufkin.

"Bufkin, get the books," Snow said.

"Which books?" Bufkin asked in confusion.

"The ones with all the Fables in them," Snow said.

"Um, I'm not sure that was any more specific," I stated to her.

"Oh, sorry. Bring the first three," Snow corrected, looking embarrassed.

"Be back in a few minutes," Bufkin said, and he flew off into a random direction.

"I'll never understand how that little monkey manages to keep everything straight around here," Bigby commented.

"He's the only one who understands the filing system, otherwise I'd have him put on indefinite suspension the first dozen times he pilfered Crane's booze," Snow explained.

As they were conversing, I noticed three tarot cards on one of the tables and went to examine them.

 _"Jack Horner brought these back from Appalachia, God know where they came from or what he did to get them,"_ I thought and flipped over the first card and saw that it was titled "strength", depicting a woman hugging a fierce wolf.

"Strength huh? I guess it comes in all forms," I said, and smirked at the irony of what I had just said.

I turned over the next card and saw an image titled "The Tower." It showed a woman lying dead at the bottom of a tower that had been struck by lightning.

 _"Damn, that's fucked up,"_ I thought and I hesitantly turned over the last card to see the disturbing sight of a man lying face down on the ground with ten swords sticking up out of his back.

"Jesus, just what the fuck is this supposed to mean?" I questioned to myself uneasily.

Suddenly, I saw Bufkin coming back, his arms carrying two books while he had the third one in his mouth. He was struggling to stay airborne with the extra weight. He suddenly lost the battle against gravity and dropped to the floor. I went over to help him up.

"Are you okay Bufkin?" I asked in concern.

"Don't worry about me Mr. Nathan, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me," Bufkin said, while I was picking the books up and putting them on the table.

"We'll start with these. Any information on Fables will be somewhere in these books," Snow said.

I looked though the large book that had a picture of the more notable Fables and I smiled when I saw me in my wolf form carrying a man and a woman on my back.

 _"Ivan Tsarevich and Helen the beautiful. That was one hell of an adventure. Ivan was definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed but Helen loved him. I hope they're okay,"_ I thought and continued to look through the book. I winced when I saw Woody standing in front of Little Red Riding Hood, defending himself against Bigby's attack.

"Look Bigby," I said, and Bigby looked at where I was pointing at and he also gave a wince.

"The Woodsman, Red Riding Hood, and me. Yeah, that was not a good day for us," Bigby said.

"That's right, you suffered the same thing that Bigby went through, Nathan," Snow said.

"Well...to be fair, I had no idea what was going on at that time, all I saw was someone attacking my son and like any other good Father, I charged at Woody to protect my son only for the same thing to happen to me. Yeah, being chopped open and having bricks shoved into you was not a pleasant experience. The worst part was passing the bricks for weeks. God...just thinking about it makes my abdomen hurt," I said while shivering.

We continued to look through the book and I started smiling in amusement when I saw Crane fleeing from The Headless Horseman.

"Ichabod Crane, scared shitless," I said, smirking.

"What?" Snow asked me in confusion.

"Our boss in his finest moment. Hard to believe that douchebag ended up running this place," I said.

"Yeah? Well, maybe it's time that changed," Snow said bitterly.

I kept looking through the book and saw Snow standing with dwarves.

 _"Ugh, dwarves. Less said about them, the better,"_ I thought in disgust and moved on until I finally found what we were searching for.

"There," I said as I pointed at a man who looked like a king, wearing a cloak that had the same symbol that we saw on the woman's ring.

"Nice work Dad. That's the same symbol." Bigby said.

"Could be her father, or husband?" Snow said.

"Only one way to find out. Bufkin, have you seen this symbol before?" I asked.

"Hmmm...actually, I think I may have in one of the dusty old tomes. Give me a moment and I'll fetch the volume for you," Bufkin said and he flew away.

After a few moments, Bufkin returned with two more books and set them down on the table, opening them for us to see what he had found.

"I found your symbol. It's just where I thought it would be, in the book of semiotics," Bufkin said and he passed one of the books to Bigby.

"It's...I can't read any of this shit," Bigby said as he was going through the pages.

"Never fear Mr. Bigby! I've got a good eye for such things. It's said that the symbol was from a family named, "Allerleiraugh." So I found another book that will tell us their history," Bufkin assured.

"Allerleiraugh, that means "Every kind of fur" In German," I said, only to get strange looks from Snow and Bigby.

"What? I read in my spare time, you would be amazed what people can do when they're bored," I defended myself.

"Moving on. You're right Mr. Nathan. A strange name, so I anticipate a strange tale!" Bufkin said in excitement.

Bufkin skimmed through the pages before stopping and saying, "Aha! Here we are! "Donkeyskin" yes, "The Donkeyskin girl." Oh that is rich! Ha Ha! The king had a donkey that shit gold!" Bufkin said, roaring out in laughter.

"All right Bufkin, just start the story please, not your commentary," Snow deadpanned while all three of us glared at him, unimpressed.

"Of course Miss Snow. Ahem." Bufkin said, clearing his throat.

As Bufkin started the story, I felt that this investigation would drag us into something that would turn into the fight of our lives.


	13. Chapter 13

Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 11, 1986.

 _Once upon a time... For that is how such tales must start. There reigned a King named Edward, strong of mind and stout of heart, belov'd by subjects, feared by foes. His lands and holdings were vast, and by his side was the Queen, her beauty unsurpassed. The secret to their royal wealth- by which the King was able to keep his coffers filled- was hidden in the royal stable, as puerile as it sounds- a donkey who, instead of dung, passed golden coins into mounds. To all good things must come an end; so too this gilded age: The Queen took ill and no physician, charlatan, nor sage could break her fever, mend her health, give succor to her anguish. She called her loving husband to the deathbed where she anguished, and asked- impossibly, she thought- that after she was gone, the King would not remarry 'till he laid his eyes upon a woman, who in beauty, was the equal of his wife. His promise thus extracted, she slipped loose the chains of life. King Edward foundered in his grief while sev'ral winters passed; his councilors despaired of his recov'ry, but at last persuaded him to wed again, as not to be alone- and more important, to produce a male heir to his throne. He sought a mate through pageants, galas, and ev'ry means. Alas, a lass whose grace surpassed his dear departed Queen's could not be found, and sorrow hung about him like a wraith until his sad gaze fell upon...his only daughter Faith._

* * *

"Well...that's pretty fucked up," Bigby commented.

"Ugh...that's not just fucked up, that's just sick," I added, feeling shocked and disgusted at what I just heard.

* * *

 _The Princess, like her Mother had grown fiercely beautiful, and as a daughter, was in ev'ry aspect dutiful, but marriage to her Father? This was too much to be asked. So she devised a deft detente with which he could be tasked: "We cannot wed," The Princess said, "Until you make for me, to compliment my swift ascent with this sovereignty, a dress the hue of blue as true as perfect cloudless skies."  
_

 _But Edward's royal tailors, with their needles and their dyes, produced the garment in a day. The Princess was aghast: The work she'd thought would take them months, they'd mastered far too fast._

 _"Another dress," She ordered, "This one like the moon in crescent, a shimmer, pellucid white, unflawed and luminescent."_

 _When two days hence, the gown arrived, the Princess yet demurred._

 _"Too simple were my first requests," She said, "And so, a third: A dress to equal summer's sun, in radiance ablaze!"_

 _She prayed she might effect escape through this demand's delays. The King, unflinching, bent his finest weavers to the loom and three days after, maids-in-waiting hurried to her room to wrap her in resplendent raiment, spun from golden thread and hung all 'round with diamonds, even as she hung her head. Faith, spirit all but broken- ev'ry stalling, strident bluff, to foil her Father failing with sartorial rebuff- concocted now a final plan to which he'd ne'er accede: "To wed you and to bed you, there is one last dress I need...for when and only when I am conspicuously clothed in coats made from your donkey, then shall I be your betrothed."_

 _She counted herself clever, for she knew he'd ne'er assault the braying beast whose golden droppings filled the royal vault. The horror that she must have felt- the dark foreboding when her maidens draped her shoulders in that damned donkeyskin! In her despair, she shed a tear that fell upon the fur, whose sympathetic magic wove a spell, transforming her into a hag so ugly, Edward would not recognize his only child before him. Thus she fled in this disguise to lands a season's walk away and there found a position as lowest of the cooks within a foreign castle's kitchen. Within this palace dwelt a Prince, and Lawrence he was called, who found himself beside himself and utterly enthralled to watch through ev'ry keyhole as the girl in donkey's furs would bake her cakes, 'till he forsook all nourishment but hers. He, heartsick in his hunger, came to see her in her squalor; his dolor and pallor made him quite the frightful caller, but he could see past her disguise like no one could before him, and when they kissed, she knew she too would forever adore him.  
_

 _His parents though, were horrified when he sought out their blessing; this beldam as his belle, they found so thoroughly distressing that they revoked the birthright of their solitary scion and cast out the lovers with but each other to rely on. A thousand miles they fled on foot; in Gretna Green they wed. He thieved the stuff to make the cakes by which she kept him fed 'till, weary from their walking, seeking shelter, starved for sleep, their flagging footfalls fetched them, famished, to her Father's keep._

 _King Edward in his hunt for Faith, had drained once-vast resources to armor knights and squires, and all able serfs and horses, and thus equipped, these men were shipped to lands both far and wide to capture and return to him, his daughter for his bride._

 _His kingdom lay in tatters now, his wealth completely spent in rack and ruin he roamed his rooms in royal raiment rent. So when fair Faith, accompanied by Lawrence pale and wan, discover'd him, they found a man whose mind had all but gone. And when she shed the donkeyskin and stood before him stripp'd, his heart from bent to broken went, and trippingly tripp'd from melancholy into madness: Snatching up a knife, he took his left eye, then his right, and then he took his life._

 _Inheritors of nothing, prince and princess of no land, poor Faith and Lawrence fled the scene in horror, hand in hand, their heads forever haunted by the mad King's dying laughter, for that's as close as some folks get..._

* * *

"...to happ'ly ever after," Bufkin finished, closing the book while the rest of us stood in a stunned silence.

 _"Happily ever after indeed,"_ I thought, feeling disturbed about how King Edward's loss of his wife was eerily similar to Winter's death.

"So, that was...dark," Bigby commented, looking unnerved.

"Nothing like an old European fairytale to lighten the mood, eh?" Bufkin joked.

"You okay Snow?" I asked when I saw her looking uneasy.

"Yeah, I don't like to think about the old days very much. If that story is like anything she really went through..." Snow trailed off.

"Then it was like what a lot of us went through," Bigby finished, looking at me in concern, knowing that Faith's story is quite possibly bringing back bad memories of when his Mother died.

"What do we know about this Prince Lawrence that Faith marries in the story? Ether of you familiar with him?" I asked.

"No, which means if he made it out of the Homelands, he's probably one of the so-called Exiles," Snow said.

"Exiles? I'm not familiar with them. Who are they?" I questioned in confusion.

"The Exiles were a bunch of royals who lost all their wealth fleeing the Homelands. As a group, they didn't mix well-all the sense of privilege but without the means to maintain it," Snow explained.

"Sounds like they weren't very popular then," Bigby said.

"They were assholes, but they were our assholes, so we set them up in a place of their own. They thought it was too far from Fabletown proper, so they call themselves the 'Princes in Exile' to this day," Snow said.

"Bufkin, see if we have an Exile named Prince Lawrence, would you?" Snow said.

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Snow," Bufkin replied before flying off.

"Now that we have a name, we should consult the mirror," Snow said, gesturing at the Magic Mirror that was covered by a sheet.

"Great," Bigby grumbled.

"Oh Jesus, don't start that shit up again. What do you have against the mirror anyway?" I questioned.

"It doesn't like me," Bigby replied.

"Don't be ridiculous, mirrors don't like or dislike people, they just reflect," Snow said as we were walking over and I pulled the cover off.

"Go ahead, ask," Snow encouraged with a smile.

Bigby sighed before saying, "...Fine. Mirror, show me Prince Lawrence."

"As with Phoebus' car in phaeton's reins, I, the sun, but to the lyre instead. Deaf to thy declaration, though it pains, to Polyhymnia only shall I bend," The face in the glass answered, prompting Bigby to throw his hands up in frustration.

"You see? The fuck is this thing even talking about?" Bigby snapped in irritation, causing me to laugh.

"It's just saying that you have to ask it in rhyme," Snow explained as she smiled at Bigby's outburst.

"Tis true, the lady does not err. If you'd be heard in verse speak, Sheriff," The Mirror agreed.

"Just what this morning needed, more fucking poetry. Screw it, one of you do it," Bigby refused, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"What, and miss out on my own son rhyming? Where's the fun in that?" I questioned after I was done catching my breath.

"I can't argue with that," Snow agreed.

Bigby huffed before saying, "God dammit, fine. Mirror mirror, as if the rhyme mattered, show Prince Lawrence or find yourself shattered."

"And you wonder why it doesn't like you," Snow commented.

"Mock if you will my quaint penchant for verse, it ensures that my questioners' queries stay terse. And though I am loath to make your bad mood worse..."The Mirror trailed off as it changed to show the image of someone sitting in a chair along with a knife lying on the floor in a puddle of blood and the Mirror continued, "You'll at best need a Doctor, at worse a hearse."

"Fucking Christ! What the Hell happened?!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Do you think he's still alive?" Snow asked.

"Hard to say, that blood isn't dry for what it's worth," Bigby responded as he was leaning in to get a better look, until the image suddenly faded.

"Mirror, pull back! Show us the rest!" Bigby shouted, pounding the glass.

"I would, but the Prince isn't illuminated. What you see is what's there, however adumbrated. And you're welcome by the way," The Mirror explained.

"Stupid God damn hunk of glass," Bigby muttered rudely, lighting up another smoke and walking away.

"Lupine lunkhead ass," The Mirror retorted as Snow covered him up.

"I've got it!" Bufkin announced as he was flying over to Snow's desk with several scrolls in his arms, "It's as though that pricey sherry has conferred upon me some kind of research savantism!"

"Huh, I guess that means alcohol does have it's uses after all," I remarked, picking up the bottle of wine.

Bufkin opened up one of the scrolls and said, " 'The undersigned' et cetera et cetera, 'hereby convey tenancy of the property at 1695 Story Avenue, Apartment 1A to His Royal Highness Prince Lawrence Gateau and wife Faith."

"That's got to be it," Snow commented.

"And we know where she lived. Story Avenue? They were exiled to the Bronx?" Bigby asked as he picked up the document.

"Well, it was a lot farther before the Triborough Bridge came along," Snow explained.

"Ah Hell, I know that address. That's not a good neighborhood, Mundy gangs operate in that area, running drugs and prostitution and they have several of New York's finest on their payroll," I explained just before the phone on Snow's desk rang.

"Isn't anyone going to do anything about that infernal racket?" Bufkin asked in slight irritation, gesturing towards the device.

Bigby and Snow just glared at him, so I reached for the phone but Bufkin beat me to it.

"It's fine Mr. Nathan," He waved me off before turning to the others, "at least one of you has manners."

As Bigby and Snow directed their glares to me, I simply shrugged.

"Sheriff!" Bufkin called out as we were about to leave, "It's Mr. Toad on the line for you. He says-"

"Tell Toad whatever it is, I'll have to get back to him," Bigby cut him off.

"Okay, let's go. Well? come on," Snow urged us.

"After you," Bigby remarked wryly as he humorously gestured Snow to go first, only to receive an unamused look.

Bufkin flew over, handed me a note and said, "I took a message. I'll warn you that I was forced to redact it a tad."

"There's expletive brewing at my expletive apartment, you expletive expletive. Get the expletive back down here or I'll expletive your expletive. Expletive," I read from the note and the three of us looked at Bufkin with arched eyebrows.

"This is a place of business you three!" Bufkin said as he crossed his arms.

"So what do we do? We need to go to Lawrence to make sure that he is alright but from what I can understand of what is left of that message, it sounds like Toad is in trouble too. How are we going to do this?" Snow asked us.

"Alright, here's what we are going to do. You two go to Toad's place to make sure that he and his son are alright, while I head over to Lawrence's apartment and see if he is okay," I said.

Bigby and Snow nodded and as we left the office, I had an ugly feeling in my gut that I wasn't going to like what I'd find at Lawrence's place.

* * *

1695 Story Avenue, South Bronx, New York City, America, June 11, 1986.

I pulled up next to the curb, got out of my car and locked the door while assessing Lawrence's apartment building. Having seen the state of the person in the Magic Mirror back at the business office, I knew I needed to approach this with extreme caution in case whoever did it could still be lurking around inside. I walked over to one of the windows and peered into a darkened room. I could barely see a faint outline of a figure slumped over in a chair.

 _"Okay, I can see someone but I can't tell who it is. Alright Deputy, need to take this slow,"_ I thought as I walked over to the front door.

I went to knock on the door and noticed that it was slightly open, prompting me to unholster my gun. I cautiously walked in, aiming my P226 as I checked corners and scanned the perimeter until I determined the situation was clear. I approached the man that I presumed was Lawrence. He was slumped over in the chair, his torso covered in stab wounds and there was a single gunshot wound on the left side of his chest. I could see a large knife laying on the ground nearby.

"Ah shit..." I muttered and holstered my gun as I closed the front door and locked it, then turned on the overhead light and walked back to check the body for a pulse.

 _"No pulse, damn it. First Faith and now Lawrence? What the fuck is going on here? Who did this?"_ I wondered and I started to check the place for any indication on what happened here. From what I could see, the place was a mess, there were clothes, dishes, and rotting food along with trash everywhere.

"Jesus Lawrence, looks like you really let yourself go. What the hell happened to you?" I said out loud.

Examining the stab wounds and the bullet hole, I mumbled, "Stabbed multiple times and shot? Definite overkill. Somebody really wanted you dead."

I was looking around the rest of the scene when I spotted a bullet that was embedded in the wall behind the chair. I noticed that the bullet was a few inches above the head rest.

"That's odd," I said.

Filing that away for later, I looked down and saw something glinting under the chair. I knelt down and saw that the object was a revolver.

 _"A gun...might be the same one that shot Lawrence. I need to document this_ scene," I thought. I went back out to my car and grabbed my camera, some gloves and an evidence bag and headed back into the apartment. After taking plenty of pictures, I put the camera down, put on the gloves and retrieved the gun.

The weapon was a Smith and Wesson model 629. I opened the cylinder to see that one round had been fired, which lent credence to my theory that Lawrence was shot with this revolver. I could tell by the smell that the gun had been fired recently. Carefully putting the gun in the evidence bag, I sealed it, preserving any scent that might be on the gun from whoever shot it, I went back to the bullet in the wall and studied the angle of the shot.

 _"Okay...it looks like the shot came from a low angle, so ether the shooter was laying on the ground, is very short, or Lawrence shot himself. But why would he shoot himself?"_ I wondered. I noticed that there was a note on the table next to the chair. Picking up the note, I saw Faith's name was on it and what I saw when I opened it was heartbreaking.

"My dearest Faith, I have failed you in every conceivable manner. I once thought myself a prince among men, but I have come to realize that in truth I am barely a man among men. I always believed that I could protect you from the harshness of the Mundy world. I always believed that I was your savior, but I was wrong. It was you who saved me. And without you, I can't survive. So it is with the utmost sadness that I must wish you farewell. Forever, your Lawrence..." I read and looked at the poor man with sorrow.

"Oh God...you poor son of a bitch. You and your wife didn't deserve this life. I hope you found her and that you two are happy," I said and leaned over to respectfully close his eyes.

While I was reaching out to close his eyes, I heard a noise. Looking around in confusion, I realized that the noise was coming from the body. I recoiled and stumbled back when Lawrence shot forward and yelled, "Faaaaaith!"

 _"Holy shit! This man's still alive!"_ I thought in disbelief, grabbing him to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

"Fuck! Sir!? Mr. Gateau!? Can you hear me?! Don't move, you've lost a lot of blood," I told him urgently.

"What...What's going on?" Lawrence asked weakly.

"I just found you here like this. Hold on, I'm calling Dr. Swineheart right now so he can get you to the hospital," I said and went over to the phone.

I punched in Swineheart's number, I heard the Doctor pick up and he said, "Hello?"

"Swineheart, it's Deputy Pierce," I said.

"Ah, Deputy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Swineheart asked me.

"I need you to come down to 1695 Story Avenue, Apartment 1A. I have a Fable in critical condition and he needs urgent medical attention," I informed.

"Of course Deputy, I'll be right there. Just try to keep him calm and make sure he doesn't move," Swineheart instructed me.

"Will do," I replied, hanging up and heading back to Lawrence.

"I called Swineheart. He's on his way. You're going to be fine," I reassured him.

"Argh...it hurts so much. I shot myself in the heart. Why am I not dead?" Lawrence asked me.

"You aimed at the wrong place. Your heart is a little more to the center of your chest, you basically perforated your left lung," I explained.

"Guess that explains why I can barely breathe and why it hurts so damn much," Lawrence said before he started coughing weakly.

"Easy, try not to move around too much. You know who I am?" I asked him.

"Y-Yes," Lawrence said.

"Okay, that's good. I'm going to ask you a few questions while we wait for Swineheart. Are you up for it?" I asked, letting him know that he didn't have to answer any questions.

"I don't know if I can, but I'll try," Lawrence said.

"Alright, just let me know if you don't want to answer anymore questions and I'll stop. Now, when was the last time you saw your wife?" I asked.

"I-I don't know...a few weeks ago. She came by to get some of her things, but I think it was so she could leave some money. I didn't find it 'till later. We've been separated for some time now," Lawrence said.

"Why did you need the gun Lawrence? Why would you want to kill yourself?" I questioned him, wondering what drove this poor man to suicide.

"I-I made a decision. The best thing for both of us. That's all I've ever wanted. But...I'm still alive. I can't even kill myself properly. The knife wasn't working fast enough, so I tried to shoot myself in the heart. Poetic, huh?" Lawrence said, looking down at his bullet wound.

"Fuck me...why would you do all of this Lawrence? What possible reason would you have for doing it?" I asked tentatively.

"I...I did it because I was so ashamed. I couldn't live with myself, knowing what I had done to her. To put her in the position to have to...to do what she does for money. I mean, you have met her, right?" Lawrence asked me.

"Yes, I have," I said, knowing that he was going to be devastated when I told him the bad news.

"Well, then you know that she's got a good heart. Such a good heart. And I was just this...this black cancer, eating away at that heart..." Lawrence trailed off, his hand on his chest and a smile on his face as he continued, "When Faith first came to live at my family's castle back in the Homelands, I took one bite of the cake she'd made for my birthday and I was...transported. That's the only way to describe it. I found out who had made the dessert and I...frankly, I became obsessed. I spied on her at all hours through the kitchen keyhole. She disguised herself back then to escape the hunters her Father had sent out after her but every now and again, when she thought no one was looking, she'd dropped the hood of her cloak and I could see her for who she really was...in all her beauty and sadness. She wept into those cakes and I ate every crumb...just to taste her on my tongue. When we finally got together, I learned that she had once wept onto her donkeyskin too, and that it had transformed her. And forever after that, it just kept gnawing at the back of my mind...what if I didn't really love her? What if her tears had enchanted me, just like they'd enchanted that ugly old coat. We became castaways, vagrants...exiled from my ancestral home and frightened away from hers. We had nothing but each other...and for awhile, that seemed like it would be enough..." Lawrence paused to take a few breaths before saying, "But when the Adversary began sweeping the Homelands, we knew that we had to go. We were able to book passage to the Mundy world, but it cost us the only things we had of any value...Faith's dresses. She said that she didn't mind, that she was happy to get rid of them, that they reminded her of her Father anyway. But I saw her shed a tear when they were handed over and by that point, there was no magic left in her tears, only pain. We were among the last to escape the Adversary. We arrived in the Mundy world a few years ago with the clothes on our backs and nothing else. Like all the deposed royalty, we were shunted to this building and promptly forgotten. And when we couldn't survive through any legal means that we tried, things turned dark. Faith had only one thing left to sell, and she could sell it again and again. But she could never look at me the same way again and I couldn't touch her anymore. Eventually, she moved out and...God damn me for saying this, it was almost a relief. I did everything I could to keep her away, but like I said, she's got a good heart. They could bruise her skin, they could break her spirit, but they never reached her heart. That's why she still worries about me. She still comes by to make sure I'm okay and every time, it's agony for me. So I figured out how to make her stop worrying, how to finish off the sad shitty fairy tale of our lives together. How to finally write 'The End',"

"Jesus Lawrence, did you stop to think that your wife wouldn't want that? To see you dead in your apartment?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Just...just leave Nate. Let me do it right this time. Or...do it for me?" Lawrence suggested, but I shook my head.

"Fuck Lawrence! I'm not going to kill you or let you kill yourself! Stop being such a selfish bastard! Faith wouldn't want this!" I yelled at him.

"If you're not going to shoot me, then what good are you?! Why are you here in the first place?" Lawrence asked me.

I took a deep breath, knowing that this was not going to be fun and said, "Lawrence...I'm truly sorry, but your wife Faith is dead."

"What? Oh fuck no. No...no, no, no, no. I knew this would happen..." Lawrence whimpered and he started sobbing.

"Lawrence, I'm really sorry you had to find out like this, but I need you to pull yourself together and help me find out who...hurt her. Anything you can remember, even the slightest detail would help," I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Fucking Georgie..." Lawrence mumbled which caught my attention.

"Georgie? Who's-" I started to say, only I was cut off when I heard the sound of someone messing with the front door.

"What the Hell? Are you expecting anyone?" I asked him, knowing that Swineheart couldn't have gotten here this quickly.

Seeing Lawrence shake his head prompted me to unholster my gun and I said, "Okay Lawrence, here's what we're going to do. You are going to play dead and I'll take cover in the closet. As soon as I figure out what this person is doing here, I'll move in to arrest them."

"Can I have the gun back? Just in case? For defense only, I swear it," Lawrence asked me.

At first I hesitated. On one hand, if I gave Lawrence the gun, he could back me up if things got bad but on the other hand, since he's got nothing left to lose, he could shoot himself. Knowing that I didn't have much time before whoever was at the door would break in, I reluctantly took the revolver out of the evidence bag and handed it to Lawrence.

"Take it. Only use it for defense. Once I arrest the perp, I'm taking the gun back," I said sternly.

Lawrence nodded and I headed over to the closet and went inside and pulled the door almost all the way closed so I could peer through the crack.

Once the front door opened, I got a look at who was walking in. The person was a rather obese man that was wearing a white button up shirt, brown pants, black dress shoes, and a fedora. What made me on edge is that he had a smug look on his face as he was walking over to where Lawrence was at.

"Ooh goodness, you've really let yourself go, 'aven't you Prince? Suits me fine, means I've got all the time in the world to tumble the place," The man commented in a English accent as he walked over to the phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah, it's me. Well, I'm not gonna be able to grill him for information, but I can poke around a bit, see if I can't turn it up. Of course, I'm checkin' there first. Looks like the man of the 'ouse weren't much for readin' though," The man said on the phone while he was examining the bookcase.

 _"Who are you? And what are you looking for?"_ I thought as I watched the man suspiciously.

"Sure, if you've nuffen' better to do, come on over and 'elp. Two 'eads are alway better'n one," The man said as he was walking back to Lawrence.

"Shame we won't get to chat with this bloke, looks like the kinda guy wears his 'eart on his sleeve. Or, all over his shirt really," The man said mockingly and he looked at the table and picked up the suicide note.

"Ello, what's this? My dearest Faith...oh listen to this, if you can stomach it! 'I once thought myself a Prince among men! I always believed I was your Savior!' The ego on this ponce! 'Without you, I can't survive. And so it is with utmost sadness that I must wish you farewell, forever!' Oh, instant classic, this one! We've gotta put this up on the bulletin board! See, it's like I'm always tellin' you," The man laughed as he crumpled up the note, tossed it away and said, "it's the little things that make this job worth doin'."

 _"That motherfucker..."_ I thought in anger, trying to restrain myself from bashing the door open and shooting this asshole or tearing him apart.

The man picked up a picture of Faith and said, "Cor...shame about the tart though, innit? Always sad to see a perfectly nice piece of ass go to waste. I'd've been on that like ugly on a bridge Troll."

The man dropped the picture and it shattered before he said, "Still...if this was what she 'ad to come home to, makes death look like a pretty welcome alternative. Er 'usband certainly seems to 'ave thought so."

I saw Lawrence getting up with this look of pure rage on his face and before I could react, he charged at the man, grabbed him, and put the barrel of the gun against his head.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! What did you do to my wife, you motherfucker!" Lawrence shouted lividly.

I busted out of the closet and aimed my gun at Lawrence, turning the situation into a tense standoff.


	14. Chapter 14

1695 Story Avenue, South Bronx, New York City, America, June 11, 1986.

 _"This is bad..."_ I thought, keeping my gun trained on Lawrence.

I needed to pacify this situation now or I was going to have a homicide on my hands. The last thing I needed was the NYPD showing up and taking Lawrence and me into custody.

"Whoa...Lawrence, calm down. Don't do something you'll regret," I tried to placate him.

"He insulted my wife! Talking about Faith like she was a piece of meat! Deputy, my honor demands that I do something!" Lawrence yelled in fury and he cocked back the hammer of the revolver.

"Lawrence! I understand. I had someone I cared about just like you did and if somebody talked about her like that, I would want to break every damn bone in their body. But please put the gun down. I don't want you to lose your freedom and Faith wouldn't have wanted you to commit murder. The Sheriff and I will figure out what happened to your wife but please, put the gun down and let him go. Do it for your wife..." I said, slowly holstering my gun and holding up my hands to show I'm not a threat.

At first, Lawrence looked uncertain and seemed to struggle with himself, but then he uncocked the revolver and held his hands up where I could see them as he backed away from the man, looking completely broken. I carefully walked over and slowly took the gun out of his hand.

"I swear Lawrence, I will find out who hurt your wife, I promise," I said, putting the revolver back in the evidence bag.

"I know you will," Lawrence mumbled as I walked behind him and put my handcuffs around his wrists and sat him back on the chair.

"Just stay here, I'm going to see-" I said but I was cut off when the obese man suddenly shoved me and ran out the door, prompting me to chase after him.

As I followed the man into an alleyway, I shouted, "Stop! Police!"

"Leave me alone!" The man shouted back and ran inside a door that was slightly open at the end of the alley and slammed it shut.

I smashed through the door and had started up the stairwell when the obese man stopped at the top and threw a table down at me, prompting me to move quickly to the side to avoid getting hit.

The man ran up to the third floor and threw a lamp and a table down at me, forcing me to duck and dodge a few times as I stumbled up the stairs and chased him down the hallway around the corner. The man knocked into two men carrying a sofa, and threw it back at me as the men yelled at him. I dodged out of the way as it hit the wall near me, and jumped over it and apologized to the two men who were still on the ground as I sped past them and ran around the corner, finding myself facing two doors. The door on the right was ajar and the door on the left was closed but the number three was swinging upside down. I broke through the door on the left and saw the man trying to escape through the window that led to the fire escape.

I ran over to grab the man's foot and I struggled to pull him back inside, until the man kicked me in the face, sending me stumbling back. I quickly shook it off and followed him out the window just in time to see the man jump over to the fire escape on the next building and almost missing, causing metal railing to wobble dangerously as he pulled himself up and climbed in the open window.

 _"Oh shit, this is a really bad idea,"_ I thought as I followed him, jumping across the space between the two buildings.

When I grabbed the railing that he had landed on, it collapsed and I crashed down onto the balcony one story below. Luckily the window was open, so I jumped through, scaring the hell out of the occupant who was watching TV, and apologized on my way out the door to the hallway.

Once in the hallway, I paused, trying to decide which way to go, then I heard a commotion and glass breaking at the end of the hallway above me, so I followed the noise to the left and I crashed through the window at the end of the hallway and landed on top of the man, who had fallen into the dumpster at the bottom. Unbelievably, he was on his feet in a second, trying to climb out.

"Hey!" I yelled when I saw he was almost out and I launched myself at him, sending the two of us flipping over the side of the dumpster, and landing on the pavement in the alley. Again, he tried to get up in a flash but I was on him quick and I tackled him to the ground.

"Get...off me!" The man grunted as he shoved me, throwing me into a wall and knocking the breath out of me.

I had had enough of this guy when I got up, gasping for breath and chased after him again down the alley. I laughed when I saw him stopped at a high fence.

"Oh bollocks!" The man exclaimed in panic and turned around to see me aiming my gun at him.

"Ease up Deputy, we're on the same side here," The man begged, raising his hands.

"Same side... my ass... motherfucker...making me chase you like that...who are you...and why the Hell...did you run?" I gasped out, breathing heavily.

"My name is Dee, I'm a private investigator and the reason why I ran is because you chased me. The fuck was I supposed to do?" Dee explained.

"Dumbass... if you hadn't run... I wouldn't have had to chase you... Okay Dee, why did you break into Lawrence's apartment?" I questioned when I caught my breath.

"I'm looking for answers just like you and the Sheriff. You two are looking for the Woodsman, right? My employer is looking to ask him a few questions too," Dee said.

"Okay Dee, if you're a PI, then show me some ID," I said.

"Sure. There's a business card in my shirt pocket, you can see it for yourself," Dee said, slowly taking a card out of his pocket and holding it out to me so I could read it.

Still keeping him in my sights, I looked at the card and saw that it was a coupon for Subway, and I exclaimed, "This is a coupon for a sandwich! Are you trying to be a smartass?!"

"Really? Huh, must've run out," Dee said with a smile.

"Okay asshole, who hired you?" I questioned sternly, not liking this guy's attitude.

"Sorry mate, my clients prefer a certain amount of discretion. I'm sure you understand," Dee said.

"Can't say that I do. C'mon, you're coming with me. You're under arrest for breaking and entering, disturbing a crime scene, resisting arrest, and assaulting a law enforcement officer of Fabletown." I reached for my handcuffs as I continued, "Get on your knees with your hands above your head."

"This could've been easy," Dee said menacingly.

"Oh don't worry, it still is. On your knees, I said," narrowing my eyes at his subtle threat.

"Dum," Dee said lowly.

"Dumb? Yes it is, now are you going to cooperate, or do I have to force the cuffs on you and drag you back?" I warned him.

"No, I'm Dee...he's Dum," Dee said, looking behind me.

Alarm bells went off in my head and before I could turn around to defend myself from the person that was behind me, I got clocked in the head hard by something and everything went black.

* * *

"Nathan? You still with us? You almost looked peaceful," I heard the familiar voice of Snow speaking as I regained consciousness.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Bigby and Snow looking down at me in concern. I rubbed my head to try and mitigate the pain.

"Yep, I'm good..." I groaned, feeling like someone had tapdanced on my ribs with a sledgehammer.

"Except you're lying in a dirty alley, with an open wound on the back of your head," Snow pointed out.

"Where the Hell did those fuckers go?" I asked as I got up, picked up my gun, and holstered it.

"Well, after the one guy hit you and the other one finished kicking you-" Snow started.

"Explains why my ribs feel busted up," I remarked while I held my side, feeling my injuries healing up.

"Then they jumped into a car and drove off," Snow finished.

"Make and model? License plate?" I asked.

"Sorry Dad, we were more focused on making sure you were okay," Bigby explained, looking sheepish.

"It's okay, I would've done the same thing if it happened to you or Snow. Did you two find out anything at Toad's place?" I asked them.

"Turns out that one of the Tweedle Dum was at Toad's place looking for something in Woody's apartment and he took off when Bigby called at him. We went inside and found out from Toad that Dum had broken in and vandalized the apartment and beat him up when Toad said he didn't have what he was looking for. Dum threatened that if he found out that ether me, Bigby, or you knew that Dum attacked him, he would kill T.J, so Toad tried to lie to Bigby, but it didn't work," Snow explained.

"Dum, that bastard. Any reason why he was there?" I asked.

"No, but we did get the donkeyskin coat and we came over to see how your progress was. We found Lawrence cuffed and Swineheart was taking him to the hospital. He told us everything," Snow said and she gave me my handcuffs back.

"Thanks. Now what do we do? We know that the Tweedles are looking for something, but we still have no idea where Woody's at," I said, slipping the handcuffs back into the pouch.

"Well, there's only one person that could know where Woody is..." Bigby said.

"Oh Jesus, please tell me we're not going to see Jack Horner," I said in slight irritation.

"Unfortunately yes," Bigby said wearily.

"Great...well, might as well get it over with. Knowing him, he and his girlfriend Rose should be at the Diner by now, I'll drive," I said, knowing that I was not going to like this.

* * *

I Am the Egg Man Diner, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 11, 1986.

"The Woodsman? You mean that tin guy from Oz? I haven't seen his ugly mug in decades," Jack said, and I glared at him for being a smartass.

"Fucking Hell...that's not who my Dad and I mean and you know it Jack. Big non-metal guy with an axe," Bigby snapped in irritation.

"Oh right! You mean Paul Bunyan! Big fat fella with funny looking giant blue pig sidekick," Jack said in false realization.

"No dumbass! It's not a pig, it's an ox!" Rose exclaimed humorously.

"Okay, just kidding. Big guy with the axe! All "Crom!" and thews and red nails and whatnot. Sure I know him, that guy's a badass!" Jack said, and it took all I had not to strangle him.

"Listen Jack, a woman named Faith is dead and The Woodsman may have done it. But go ahead and keep laughing, see how far that smartass attitude will get you," I said sternly and Bigby and I walked out of the Diner.

As we were about to head back to the office, my hearing picked up the door opening and Jack shouting, "Bigby! Nathan! Wait up!"

"What now?" Bigby asked irritably as he dragged on his smoke.

"Rose Red thinks I'm out here apologizing to you both, so if you two could play it like that, it'd be great," Jack said.

"We're listening," I said.

"This girl, Faith? She was a lady of the evening? Are we talking about that Faith?" Jack questioned.

"Yeah," Bigby confirmed.

"I ah, may have interacted with her in her professional capacity, nothing Rose needs to know about," Jack confessed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think we follow you, go on," I said, willing to listen what he had to say but still skeptical about it.

"Check out the Trip Trap. It's a bar down on the Crooked Mile in the Bronx, I'll lay you dollars to donuts that's where the son of a bitch is hiding out," Jack said.

"Yeah, we know the place. Hell, I go there whenever I have time off, but why should we believe you? We've never known you to be civic-minded," I questioned him, wondering what Jack's angle was.

"You and the Sheriff don't know me at all Deputy. There's still such a thing as honor in this world. I don't care for people who don't have any. If The Woodsman is the one who did it, you take that fucker down," Jack said.

"We will, thanks Jack" Bigby said and we walked back to my car so that we would drive to the Trip Trap.

As we were driving to the Trip Trap Bar, Bigby asked, "Are you okay Dad?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine Son. Why do you ask?" I evaded, knowing that my son could tell that I felt uneasy.

"You're tense," Bigby pointed out in concern and continued, "It's about this case, isn't it?"

"I could never get anything past you. It's just...reading Faith's story, hearing how her mother died is eerily similar to how your Mother passed away. And the fact that the poor girl was forced to take up prostitution...how did the system get so fucked up? This community was created so that all Fables would have a fresh start, but now, Faith, Lawrence, Grendel, and all those other Fables who should've been living good lives are living in debt, poverty, and resorting to crime to make a living...I just don't know what to believe anymore. Things are worse off then they've ever been..." I explained, feeling useless.

"Well...that's not true," Bigby remarked.

"You're right, we've been through worse, but not by much," I agreed.

"We'll figure something out. Maybe we can talk to Snow and see what she could do," Bigby offered.

I nodded as we were pulling up at the Trip Trap Bar and we got out.

"How about you let me do the talking Son. The bartender knows me and things will go a lot smoother," I suggested.

"Yeah, maybe I should," Bigby said, and we walked over to the entrance and went inside.

As we walked in, I could see the bartender and the owner Holly, serving drinks to Gren. Holly looked at me and smiled but then she frowned when she saw Bigby.

"Nate, It's good to see you. But why is the Sheriff here?" Holly asked me, looking at Bigby in distaste.

"Hey Holly, it's good to see you too. I'll get straight to the point, the reason why we're here, is because we're looking for the Woodsman. Have you or Gren seen him?" I asked.

"Sorry Nate, haven't seen him so I guess you two can be on your way. Why are you looking for him?" Holly asked us.

"It's official Fabletown business Holly," Bigby evaded, prompting Gren to snort.

"Oh, well, if it's official Fabletown business..." Gren said sarcastically.

"Look Holly, we don't want to cause any problems. We just want to know the last time you saw him here, that's all," I said calmly.

"Is that so?" Holly said, glanced at Gren and continued, "I don't know, can't remember."

"We'd just like some help, then we'll be out of here," I said.

"Well, I'd be willing to help you two out of here. Would that help?" Holly said humorously with a smile.

I chuckled and said, "No thanks, we'll be fine."

Looking up, I saw a picture of Woody above the bar and asked, "The man in the picture, is he a regular?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, who?" Holly lied.

"The one with the bald head and the beard," Bigby pointed out.

"Never seen him before," Holly lied.

I saw Bigby looking at a half-empty glass of whiskey and he asked, "Whose is that?"

"Someone who left," Holly stated.

"If they left, why didn't you dump it?" Bigby questioned.

"If you want a cleaner place, feel free to get the fuck out of here," Gren snapped.

"I'm sensing a very hostile tone from you. Don't deny it, I'm good at picking this stuff up," Bigby retorted calmly, prompting me to nudge him with my elbow to get him to stop antagonizing Gren.

I looked at the jar of pickled eggs and stared at it, causing Holly to say, "Let me solve the mystery for you Nate. They're pickled eggs."

"I know what they are, I'm just wondering why anyone would eat them," I said with a grimace.

Shaking his head, Bigby walked over and sat down next to Gren.

"Lotta stools in this place," Gren grumbled.

"If I sit over there, I'm gonna have to yell to talk to you. And I don't like raising my voice unless I really have to," Bigby said humorously.

"Are you two gonna order something, or are you gonna bother me and my customer?" Holly asked with an edge in her tone.

"Fine, I'll take a scotch. Neat," Bigby said.

"Whiskey," I said.

Holly poured the drinks, handed them to us and said, "Here's your drinks, 17,95,"

"You must be loving this, huh Bigby?" Gren spoke up.

"Yeah? What's that Gren?" Bigby questioned him.

"The Big Bad Wolf gets a badge and goes after The Woodsman? That's pretty fucking rich if you ask me. It's like revenge porn," Gren said bitterly.

"Where have you been the last few centuries? We put all that stuff behind us, remember? The Fabletown compact-" Bigby said, only to be rudely interrupted by Gren.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. The fucking Fabletown compact. Big fat get-out-of-jail free card for you and Bluebeard and all those other rich fucks up at The Woodland. Nice how that worked out for all you guys," Gren spat out.

"Okay Gren, maybe you ought to-" Holly tried to break it up.

"No, fuck that! This guy right here...you know what he did? This paragon of...whatever? I'll tell you the story of what this fucking guy did," Gren snapped out as I got up from my seat and he continued, "He's, like, in the forest and shit and he comes up on this fine little piece of ass with a basket of goodies for her granny, right? He's thinking, "Fucking A. I'm gonna get in on that shit." So the motherfucker hightails it down to Granny's, like, cozy little cottage where Granny is. And he eats that old bitch right up, like she was a fucking jalapeño popper or some shit. And do you know what this sick fuck does next? He dresses up in her fucking granny pajamas and he just fucking waits. And then when this young chick shows up, he's all like, "Hey, come here sugar tits! Look at what big everything I have!" And do you know what was the only thing that stopped him? Fucking Woody, that's fucking who! Yeah, like Woody's there and he's like wha-chow and wha-ching with that fucking axe man! And then it's like, "Here's some bricks in your belly, bitch!" And, " Get on down the river! Fuck you!" And then everyone is, like, "Yeah, he's a hero!" And little Red let him do some riding, probably. And they lived happily ever after."

"Wow, it's like I was there," Bigby said sarcastically.

"Yeah, joke all you want. Make your little...witticisms, we'll see who's laughing last," Gren said menacingly, prompting me to step in front of Gren and try to calm him down.

"Okay Gren, I think maybe you had a bit too much to drink today. So how about you calm down and go home to sleep it off," I tried to placate him and Gren kicked the stool over in fury.

"Fuck you Nate! Don't tell me what to do! Thinking you're such a good person when you are the one to turn Bigby into The Big Bad Wolf when he was little! Every time you come here, I hear you talking about how you lost your mate and how you turned a sweet little wolf cub into a monster! You turned Bigby into The Big Bad Wolf! All the blood and carnage that he caused is on your hands!" Gren shouted at me.

"Hey! You think I don't know that?! I've had to live with it for centuries! When Winter died, I should've moved on but instead, I let my hatred and grief get the better of me and I brainwashed my Son into following me on my path of vengeance! When I realized what I done when I saw the carnage, It nearly destroyed me Gren. Am I proud of it? No, I'm not. If I could take it back, I would, but I can't and now I have to live with it," I snarled at him.

"Wait," I heard a familiar voice rang out and I turned to look at the hallway to see that it was Woody.

"Woody! What are you doing?!" Holly exclaimed in panic and Woody raised his hand.

"It's okay Holly," Woody reassured before turning to Gren and saying, "Cool your jets Gren. No need to go making this whole thing worse then it already is. I appreciate you sticking up for me buddy, but that ain't even how it really went down back then. Not even close."

"Woody, we need you to come with us and answer some questions," Bigby said.

"I know, but I didn't kill that girl. I know that's what people are saying, but I didn't. I'm a drunk and a piece of shit, but I don't kill girls," Woody said.

"Fuck that! This guy is a hero! He saves little girls and you two go treating him like some kind of murderer?! Fuck you!" Gren roared out.

"Gren! This is your last warning! I know you care about Woody, but if you don't calm down and let us do our jobs, Bigby and I will arrest you for disturbing the peace and interfering in a criminal investigation," I warned him, putting my hand on the butt of my gun.

"No! Holly's sister goes missing and not one of you people give one solitary fuck about it! I wait in that fucking line all morning to talk about it, just so I can file a complaint with a fucking monkey who tells me "it'll be looked into." But you bastards find something you can pin on Woody, and suddenly you're goddamn Columbo!" Gren yelled in frustration.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have a big mouth?" Bigby asked lowly.

"Yeah, they did. What are you gonna do about it? Arrest me too? Tell me I have the right to remain silent?" Gren sneered at us.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'll shut you up the old-fashioned way," Bigby threatened.

When Gren didn't say anything, Bigby said, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let's go Woody."

 **"I'd like to see you try,"** I heard Gren's voice deepening and the sounds of bone snapping and changing as we were walking Woody to the front door.

Turning around, my eyes widened when I saw Gren was in his Troll form and he was charging at us.

Before I could react, Gren smacked me away and I hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.

 _"Argh...fuck,"_ I thought in pain as I picked myself up.

I saw Gren grabbing Bigby and smashing his head into the bar and picking him up before swinging him into the ceiling fan. Bigby grabbed what was left of the fan and crashed it into Gren's head, forcing Gren to lose his hold and drop Bigby to the floor. I took out my baton and flicked it open, running at Gren and hitting him hard in the leg, but Gren grabbed me and threw me at a wall again. As I bounced off it and landed on the floor with a crash, I lost my baton in the process. Groaning, I slowly got up and saw Gren grab the pool table and push it at me. I jumped up on the table to prevent myself from getting crushed. Flying at Gren, I punched him in the face and he slapped me away again. I hit the front door, feeling like a few of my ribs were cracked again . Gren was heading over to me when Bigby charged at Gren and kicked him in the leg, but Gren grabbed Bigby's leg and swung him around into the walls, the floor, and the ceiling like a ragdoll. Bigby was slammed onto the floor, motionless, and I decided to hell with it as I began to shift my form. My arms shifted into paw-like hands and my legs changed into digitigrade paws and my tail grew out for balance. My limbs and tail sprouted out in gray fur and my muscles grew bigger. I charged at Gren and slashed him in the legs, forcing him to let go of Bigby and he dropped to the floor, roaring in pain.

I heard a snarl and I saw Bigby getting up, looking more hairy, sprouting sharper teeth, longer claws, and golden eyes. He charged Gren, kicking him in the abdomen. Gren suddenly grabbed us and as he started running to the wall, we stabbed our claws into Gren's shoulders, forcing him to drop us in agony as he crashed into the wall alone, leaving a large hole and destroying the dartboard.

Bigby ran over and jumped on Gren's back, slashing at Gren's face and neck from behind as Gren thrashed around trying to shake him off. Gren then backed up and smashed Bigby into the wall, breaking a few pool cues hanging in a rack on the wall. Bigby grabbed a cue that had been broken in half and he stabbed it in Gren's shoulder, making him howl in agony and he dropped to his knees but another brutal kick from Bigby sent him to the floor clutching his shoulder.

"He's had enough!" Woody yelled.

Bigby and I glared at Woody and looked back at Gren.

"He's not worth it," I said coldly and we left Gren and headed back to the bar to finish our drinks.

I shifted my body back to normal, grabbed and holstered my baton, and we sat down on our stools and finished our drinks.

"Hey, um, sorry about the bar. I'll make sure to take care of it," I said sheepishly.

"Thanks Nate, you always did care about us strays," Holly said gratefully.

I looked around at the damage and when I saw Woody about to sneak out the back door, I warned, "Don't...even...think about it."

Woody flinched and looked to see Bigby and me glaring at him. He looked at the state of Gren and asked, "Is this the type of treatment I can expect if I let you two take me in?"

"No, if you come quietly, you'll be treated with respect," Bigby reassured.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Bigby and I looked to see that it was Dee.

"Oi, Holly! Draw us a pint! Have you seen..." Dee started to say, but he trailed off when he saw the mess and the state of Gren.

"Fuckin' Hell..." Dee said softly in disbelief and when he looked to see Bigby and me at the bar, he paled.

"Hello Dee, fancy seeing you again," I said with a smirk.

"Fuckin' Hell!" Dee yelled in complete panic and he started running, prompting Woody to try and run as well.

I immediately ran after Dee and tackled him to the ground before putting his hands behind his back and slipping the cuffs around his wrists.

"Fuck man! That's not necessary! The Woodsman's the one you want, not me!" Dee complained as I was dragging him roughly to his feet.

When Bigby walked over with Woody in cuffs, Dee slumped, knowing that he wasn't getting away.

"You were saying? Let's go you two. You're under arrest," I said as we escorted them to the car and put both of them in the back seat.

Bigby and I got in and I started driving us back to the office.

"Goddammit! Goddammit!" Woody roared in frustration.

"Relax Woody, unlike Dee, you're not being charged with anything, yet," Bigby reassured him.

"That ain't what I'm pissed about," Woody said.

"No? What are you pissed about?" I asked while I kept my eyes on the road.

"Gren, that dumbfuck," Woody grumbled.

"Don't worry about him, I'm sure he'll be okay and besides, it's not the first time someone tried to kill us," I said.

"It ain't that...it's...he was going to bat for me and it was all on account of a lie," Woody explained.

"What lie would that be Woody?" Bigby asked in confusion.

"You and your Father know. About the girl...Red and her granny. And you two," Woody said.

"What are you getting at?" Bigby asked.

Woody hesitated before continuing, "Truth is, I didn't come to that cottage to save those people. I didn't give two shits about that old bat or her granddaughter."

"Hold on, if you didn't head to that cottage to save Red and her Grandmother, then what were you doing there?" I questioned, looking at the review mirror and seeing the look of guilt on Woody's face.

"Dad's right, what were you doing there if you weren't going to save them?" Bigby agreed.

"You mean you don't know? I always figured you both knew. It was winter in The Homelands. It was so much cleaner than here, remember?" Woody asked us.

"Not really," Bigby said.

"Yeah, I do. You don't forget something like that," I said, smiling nostalgically.

"Even back then I had a taste for the booze and...ah fuck it, who am I kidding? I was a drunk. A good-for-nothing drunk. I had no trade. I couldn't keep a job, didn't want a job. The thieving started small, just a piece of fruit here, a bottle there. Enough to get by when I couldn't bum a few coins off of somebody. But it didn't take too long for that to get out of hand, too. But things really kicked into high gear after I rolled the Lumberjack. I went around the back of some tavern one night to take a piss and I found him passed out in a ditch. Took his clothes, his boots...and his axe. That axe has powerful magic. Never loses it's edge and it was so sharp that it can split anything without a sound. Made it the perfect burglary tool, I thought I was so fucking clever. In the beginning, I always got in and out clean and never took too much...just enough to stay loaded and pay for places to crash at night, maybe get a woman from time to time. At first, if someone was home, I'd run. But after a while, I stopped caring. If someone got in my way, well...that was their bad luck. Then one day, I was in town and I saw this old bitch yapping to the Blacksmith. Just talking about how her beautiful young granddaughter was coming to visit and bringing her a basket of goodies. And I thought, "I want those goodies, and I want that granddaughter."," Woody explained.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Woody," I said in shock.

"I ain't proud of it. I followed her back to the cottage to wait for this hot young thing to arrive. I must have been pretty blotto, because I actually blacked out while casing the place. Next thing I knew, I was hearing screams from the cottage. So I ran in thinking, "Nobody better be stealing my goodies." And there you were Bigby. Seeing a large black wolf literally swallowing a little girl whole stunned me but I came up with the idea that if I saved the girl and the old bitch, I would get some kind of reward. So I took you by surprise by knocking you out and dragging you outside, hacking you open and pulling the little girl and the old woman out, shoving bricks into you and tying the wound closed with rope and that's where you came out of nowhere Nathan with this look of bloodthirsty rage on your muzzle and I managed to accomplish the same thing. I was going to do bad things to those people and instead they made me out to be like I was some kind of Goddamn hero, and I let 'em. To this day, I let 'em," Woody confessed, looking ashamed.

"And that's who Gren got his ass kicked defending, huh," Bigby commented.

"That's all you got to say? "Huh"? I don't get you Wolf, how do you live with it?" Woody questioned him.

"With what?" Bigby asked.

"The guilt. You killed all those people back in the Homelands. You ate 'em." Woody said, looking surprised.

"I signed the Fabletown compact just like you. All that stuff is officially forgiven," Bigby explained.

"I ain't talking about that and you know it! I'm talking about on the inside. How do you tell yourself you're a good guy when you know all the terrible shit you did?" Woody asked in disbelief.

"What choice do I have? There's nothing I can do about any of that now," Bigby said.

"What about you Nathan? I heard what you and Gren were shouting about. How could you live with yourself, knowing that you created such a monster?" Woody asked me.

"I need to. That time was a very dark moment in my life. When Winter died, I should've moved on but I let my anger and hatred consume me and I deprived my son of a normal life so that I could get revenge. When I saw the results of what I had done, I was horrified of what we had become, knowing that we had the blood of so many innocents on our hands. So I keep reminding myself every day of what I had done so I won't make the same mistakes again. Look Woody, you want to punish yourself, go right ahead. But if you think you're doing the rest of us any favors by ruining your own life, you're an idiot. The world doesn't want your self-pity. So just accept the truth about your past and move on," I said sternly.

"I didn't kill that girl, Faith. It wasn't me," Woody said.

"No Woody, we don't think it was..." Bigby trailed off as we turned onto Bullfinch Street and saw police cars and NYPD patrol units keeping people away from the entrance of The Woodland that had been cordoned off by crime scene tape.

"What the Hell?" I said in confusion and pulled up near the site.

"We're gonna check this out. If ether of of you do anything stupid, we'll throw you down the Witching Well ourselves," Bigby threatened as we got out of the car and I locked it to prevent Dee or Woody from running.

While we walked up to the scene, I saw one officer running out and throwing up. When Bigby and I walked up to the tape, we saw something that would stay with us for the rest of our lives.

"Snow! Oh God no!" Bigby and I yelled in grief and not thinking straight, we ducked under the tape and were grabbed by a few officers.

"Nooo! Fuck you! Let me go! Snooow!" I roared out and punched an officer out of instinct. Instantly, I was tackled and having handcuffs put around my wrists.

What Bigby and I saw was the decapitated head of Snow White.


	15. Chapter 15

20th Precinct, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 12, 1986.

After Bigby and I were arrested for trespassing a crime scene and assaulting an officer, we were taken to the 20th Precinct and put in separate interrogation rooms, where we were currently being questioned by homicide detectives.

I was leaning forward against the table and holding my head in my cuffed hands, looking at the crime scene picture of Snow, still in shock and still trying to convince myself that this was all a dream.

 _"It's just a fucking nightmare. It's just a fucking nightmare,"_ I thought repeatedly, trying to deny what I saw.

I could faintly hear someone calling my name, but I was just too out of it to respond.

"Mr. Pierce!" The voice shouted at me and a hand slamming on the table snapped me out of it.

I looked across the table and saw Detective Phillips grab the photo as he looked at me in concern.

"You're making this more difficult it has to be. If you'd just cooperate and answer the questions, then you can go home. Maybe get some sleep cause frankly, you look like hell. How are you feeling? I know it's been a long night for you. You look like you could use some rest," Detective Phillips said.

"I'm hunky dory, thanks for asking asshole," I snapped in irritation.

"Hey, there's no need to be aggressive, I'm trying to help you," Detective Phillips retorted sternly, then continued more compassionately, "Look...I know what you and your friend must be going through...really, I do. But I could use your cooperation." The Detective's patronizing tone made my blood boil.

"You know what? Don't. Don't even go there, cause I can tell that you don't know the first thing about what me and my friend are going through right now. You don't know anything. If you did, you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me, you'd be talking to" the piece of shit that did this," I spat out.

"Well, you stonewalling me like this isn't helping ether of us, so why don't you cut the shit and..." Detective Phillips snapped out but trailed off and sighed, saying, "I'm trying to help you Nathan."

I let out a humorless chuckle, looked away from him and said, "What the hell is with you people, always trying to empathize with others? 'I know this must be hard for you.' Well do you?! Do you fucking know?! Have you ever had a friend killed and their head left right at your fucking doorstep?! So don't you tell me you know what me and my friend are going through right now because you don't know shit!"

When Detective Phillips didn't say anything, I said bitterly, "No? Didn't think so."

I looked back to read Detective Phillips's expression, but only saw a weird look on his face as his nose started bleeding and his eyes rolled up in his head as he slumped face first onto the table toward me.

"Holy shit! Detective?! Can you hear me?!" I exclaimed in panic and reached my hands as far as the cuffs would allow to check his pulse while I screamed for help. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he was still breathing.

 _"He's fine, just passed out. What the hell just happened?"_ I thought in confusion.

My question was answered when the door opened and I saw that it was Crane holding a box of evidence.

"Follow me Deputy, we have to get your son and get out of here," Crane said urgently.

I held up my cuffed hands and said, "I'm not going to get far like this. Crane, what the hell did you do to him?" I questioned.

"He'll be fine," Crane said impatiently.

"You didn't answer my question," I said.

"Oh for the love of...fine. I used a memory wipe spell. It's very expensive, but it works. The whole station will forget everything they saw in the last 24 hours and everything they saw at The Woodland. Now come along," Crane explained irritably as he left the room. I morphed my hands to get out of the cuffs, then grabbed Detective Phillips's notes and the picture of the decapitated head of Snow on my way out the door.

I followed Crane to interview room 2 and opened the door to see Bigby looking at us in confusion, cuffed to a table across from a female detective in the same state as Phillips.

"Dad? What the hell's going on?" Bigby asked me.

"Long story short, Crane used a memory wipe spell to make sure everyone in the entire precinct forgot everything they saw in The Woodland. Now let's get the hell out of here," I explained.

Crane came into the room with handcuff keys, freed Bigby and left the room without a word. Bigby and I followed Crane outside to his car and Crane drove us back to the business office.

After an awkward silence, Bigby said, "We owe you one. Thanks for bailing us out."

"But of course. It sounds like you and Nathan are surprised that I would do so," Crane commented.

"Maybe a little," I said while I was looking out the window.

"Sheriff, Deputy, the three of us want the same thing here. We crave Justice. Personal feelings aside, we are on the same side of the law, and we always have been. Now, at the time Snow White was...left at The Woodland, you two had The Woodsman and Tweedle Dee in your custody, so The Woodsman is not a suspect for this," Crane said.

"After our talk yesterday, we wouldn't have put him on the list to begin with. But Tweedle Dee on the other hand..." Bigby started.

"Has no alibi before he showed up at the Trip Trap Bar and Bluebeard has been interrogating him ever since he got him and The Woodsman out of your car Deputy. So far, he hasn't said anything worth a damn," Crane finished.

"Bluebeard?! Who the Hell put that vigilante in charge of the investigation?!" I exclaimed in displeasure.

"The man has a certain...enthusiasm in his pursuit of vengeance. I should think you two would find it admirable," Crane remarked.

 _"More like abhorrent,"_ I thought in disgust, feeling my bad mood getting even worse.

"That jackass better not break anything while he's trying to do our jobs. Something is going on with the Tweedles. My Dad and I don't know who they're working for, but whoever it is wants 'em snooping around every crime scene we've been to," Bigby said irritably.

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean they're involved in the murders. We have to tread very carefully here. The last thing we want to do is implicate an innocent man. That's the sort of thing that could destroy this whole community," Crane lectured us and continued to say bitterly, " "Community." Ha. What a wretched place our Fabletown can be. It was so much simpler back in the old days, our stories had a beginning, a middle, and an end. But ever since we moved to this awful city, everything's just become so...complicated. You know, I never get more homesick then when one of us dies. And now...for it to be Snow...I've never been good with these sorts of things. I just can't believe this is really happening. God, is it wrong to feel so homesick?"

Seeing the man on the verge of tears, I leaned forward, put my hand on his shoulder and said, "No Crane, we don't think it's wrong. In fact...we know exactly what you mean."

"Bigby, Nathan, did she...did Snow say anything, the last time you saw her?" Crane asked us.

"How do you mean?" Bigby asked.

"I just, I want to know that she was...fine I suppose," Crane said.

"There was a lot on her mind yesterday, Crane. But the whole reason she came with us was because she cared. About Fables. All of them. Especially the ones that really needed help. She wanted to change the system...to make it easier for Fables to get help when they need it," I explained as we were pulling up to The Woodland.

"It...It isn't easy, you know. Changing how a government works, believe me," Crane said.

"If anyone could've done it though, it would've been Snow," Bigby said softly.

"Mmm, maybe so," Crane agreed before slamming his hands into the steering wheel in frustration and exclaiming, "Damn it all you two, we have to put an end to this! Two murders in two days! If we don't catch our killer soon, you can bet there'll be another body on our doorstep tonight!"

As we all got out of the car I said, "We're doing everything we can."

"Please you two, for Snow. She was the best of us," Crane begged.

"If nothing else Crane, that is something the three of us can agree upon," Bigby said as he closed the passenger door and the three of us walked to the entrance.

As we walked inside, I started remembering when we first arrived in America, at a time when everything seemed so simple back then.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _"You've nothing to fear Gaffer Wolf, I'm leaving you and your Father in only the finest of hands," Snow reassured an uncomfortable looking Bigby as we were heading to Salem in a carriage._

 _"I am chilled by the weather only Miss White," Bigby grumbled._

 _"*Tsk* it's as warm a spring day as could be wished! Best rid yourself of such fibs before we arrive in town, Bigby. They'll be frowned upon where we're headed," Snow lectured as we passed the big wooden sign that told us we were entering Salem._

 _"In truth Miss White, I still find myself ill at ease in this skin, from time to time. I can smell all manner of beasts in the woods to ether side of this road...yet I lack the tooth or claw to pursue a meal," Bigby complained._

 _"Never think yourself disarmed Bigby. Your mind is sharper then any blade I've encountered. I'm sure you and your Father will take to your lessons with the same alacrity you once applied to the hunt. Once you are versed in penmanship, elocution, deportment and so on, I daresay you and your Father will have the advantage of any man or beast whose path you'll cross," Snow reassured him._

 _"You flatter us Miss White. My son will count himself lucky if he returns to New Amsterdam with just enough civility not to be drummed out of Fabletown," I teased with a wolfish grin, getting a quick playful glare shot at me by Bigby in response._

 _"Oh, I have far higher expectations for you and your son, Mr. Pierce," Snow said._

 _When we pulled up to a schoolhouse, Snow said excitedly, "Here we are. School will have let out not long ago, so our timing should be impeccable. I can scarcely wait for you two to meet your instructor and go over your syllabus!"_

 _We got out of the carriage and walked over to the front door. Opening the door, we saw a man in his early 60s talking to a young girl._

 _"Oh, he's kept a pupil late, let's not interrupt," Snow spoke quietly as we watched._

 _"Thank you for giving me an extra day to write my theme, sir. Only I've been so fatigued of late, I can scarcely credit it. While I'm at the schoolhouse, I've no problem concentrating on my studies. But as soon as I'm not under your watch, I feel so drained and my head aches so," The girl complained._

 _"Well Abigail, it sounds as if the only thing for it is that I should have my eyes on you as much as possible. I could arrange to stay at the schoolhouse after hours while you worked...or perhaps I can visit your home for private lessons," The man offered._

 _"Oh, that is perfectly kind of you to offer, but I would not wish to inconvenience you, Headmaster Crane," the girl refused._

 _The girl then saw us and said, "Oh, I did not know that Headmaster Crane was expecting anyone. My apologies."_

 _"It is quite alright. We saw you two speaking and didn't want to interrupt," I spoke politely._

 _"Why thank you, Sir." The girl replied._

 _"My apologies young lady. My name's Nathan Pierce and this is my good friend Bigby Wolf," I introduced._

 _"It is good to meet you kind sir," she said with a small curtsy, "My name is Abigail Williams. I'll take my leave so I will delay your conversation with Headmaster Crane no longer," Abigail said politely and walked out._

 _After Abigail left, I looked at the Headmaster, sitting at his desk, and got a feeling that I wasn't going to like him._

 _(2 weeks later)_

 _" 'Loll not out the tongue, rub the hands, or beard. Do not thrust out the lips or bite them or keep the lips too open or too close. Do not puff up the cheeks.' That will do for today, children. Study your primers this night before bed, each of you," Crane instructed as he was walking over to his desk and putting the book away._

 _Bigby and I got up from our desks when we were approached by Abigail and two other girls._

 _"We thought to introduce ourselves. I am Mercy Lewis, this is Mary Warren and you are familiar with Abigail Williams," Mercy introduced._

 _"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I am Nathan Pierce and this is my good friend Bigby Wolf," I said with a smile._

 _"Pray tell me how do you like Salem? And the school? Master Crane is ever so good a Schoolmaster. Do you not think it so?" Mercy asked us._

 _"We like them both well enough, but I do not enjoy so much time indoors. It ill suits me," Bigby remarked._

 _"I have much work at home," Abigail stated, "If you will excuse me, I should get to it."  
_

 _Mercy continued encouragingly, "Headmaster Crane will work a wonder with you both, as he had with Abigail and her difficulties. Why, he has improved her knowledge of all manner of subjects!"_

 _Mary tugged at Mercy and said, "Come along Mercy, let us leave Misters Bigby and Nathan in peace. I fear we are delaying them from their studies." Mary dragged Mercy away before Bigby and I could say anything._

 _Feeling a little insulted, I sat back down in my chair and saw another student staring at us curiously. She walked toward us on her way out and said, "Hello, my name's Betty. My Father is Reverend Parris. I'm ten. I have a cat and his name is Abednego," Betty rambled shyly.  
_

 _"I see. Well, it is very nice to meet you Betty," I said politely._

 _"I would take care with those girls. I hear them speaking of witchcraft. Do either of you know about witches?" Betty asked us._

 _"A thing or two, yes," Bigby answered, nodding._

 _"Witches serve the Devil. They can breathe underwater and make milk go sour. The only ways to kill them are hanging and burning," Betty explained._

 _"Actually, we knew a witch once," Bigby began, but luckily was interrupted by Schoolmaster Crane. "Run along now Betty. Give your good Reverend Father my regards," Crane said._

 _"Good day to you!" Betty exclaimed cheerfully as she was leaving._

 _Crane immediately turned his attention to us as Betty walked out of the schoolhouse, leaving Me, Bigby, and Crane alone. Crane suddenly whacked his ruler across Bigby's knuckles and then mine._

 _"Ow!" I yelled in pain and glared at him._

 _"You oafish fewmet of hares! It becomes clear why Snow White placed you two in my care! "Let Ichabod Crane make men out of them, lest one or both of them devour one of us Fabletown worthies in the attempt!" Is that not the way of it?!" Crane yelled at us._

 _"Master, what have we-" Bigby tried to ask in bewilderment, only he was cut off._

 _"Do not speak again of matters pertaining to our sort in front of the Mundane, do you hear?! We are not like them. And if you or your Father forget it again, I'll make my next reminder stick," Crane lectured us._

 _After a few tense seconds of Bigby and I glaring at him, we let out resigned sighs and Bigby said, "Aye, Master Crane."_

* * *

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Bigby shook my shoulder and I looked to see him staring in concern.

"Are you okay?" Bigby asked me as we were walking to Bluebeard's apartment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about the past is all," I said.

"Well, just hang in there," Bigby said when we reached Bluebeard's apartment and went in.

Several seconds later, Bigby exclaimed, "Jesus! How big is this place?"

"Well, Bluebeard is certainly vain, isn't...What the Fuck?!" I yelled in shock when we walked into a room and saw Bluebeard and his goblin butler Hobbes looking at Dee, who was tied up to a rack.

"Bluebeard! What the hell are you doing?!" Bigby exclaimed furiously as we hurried over to see if Dee was alright.

"Bigby! Nathan! Oh thank God! Get me down from 'ere! 'Ees barkin' mad!" Dee yelled in terror.

"Ah Sheriff, Deputy, good day to you two as well. Would you both care to take the lead, or simply sit back and watch?" Bluebeard offered, holding a whip.

"Fucking hell Bluebeard! Is this your idea of an interrogation?!" I shouted at him incredulously.

"You offend me Nathan, this is only the beginning of an interrogation," Bluebeard said darkly.

"Untie him, now," Bigby growled.

"Yes, by all means, let us squander this precious advantage over our enemy," Bluebeard remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"He's not our 'Enemy', he's a suspect and you tied him to a Goddamn rack! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I yelled.

"Oh come now! You both know I wasn't going to actually torture the fat slob. I just wanted to get some answers," Bluebeard tried to reason with us, but Bigby and I were not convinced.

 _"Seriously? And this is coming from a serial killer who married women, butchered them, and dumped their bodies in the basement of this castle, once upon a time,"_ I thought in disbelief.

"Snow White is dead, you son of a bitch. We don't want 'Answers', we want the truth," Bigby snapped in irritation.

"Have it your way. Hobbes, fetch Mr. Dee some milk and cookies while I take him off the rack, won't you?" Bluebeard said.

"The butterscotch sir? Or the snickerdoodles?" Hobbes inquired.

"Your choice," Bluebeard said, and he went over to the rack and started untying Dee.

"Oi! You lettin' me go?" Dee asked in confusion.

"No, we're simply not torturing you, which is a pity," Bluebeard said.

"You okay, Crane?" I asked when I noticed that he hasn't said anything the entire time.

"What do you mean by that?" Crane questioned.

"Nothing. It's just that you've been quiet the entire time we've been here," I explained, concerned that Snow's death might be affecting him more then Bigby and I thought.

"Talking to hoodlums and murderers doesn't exactly fall under my purview," Crane said.

"Huh, by that do you mean Dee or Bluebeard?" Bigby quipped as he lit up a smoke and started dragging from it.

"Take care when you and the Deputy are dealing with Bluebeard, Sheriff. You may not like him, but a man with enough fortune to have an entire castle magically installed into a one-bedroom apartment isn't someone to be lightly dismissed," Crane lectured.

 _"Are you fucking kidding me? He actually admires that sick bastard?"_ I thought in slight disbelief.

"Can we begin? Or would you all like to continue chatting about what a villain I am?" Bluebeard piped up impatiently as he strapped Dee to a chair.

Bigby, Crane, and I walked over to the chair and Bigby said menacingly,"All right Dee. My Deputy and I are not gonna torture you like our friend here planned. But you are going to talk."

"As the rules of civility once taught, 'Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.'," Crane recited as we leered at Dee.

"Okay Dee, we know you were looking for something in Faith's apartment. What was it?" I questioned.

"None of your business what I was looking for, innit? Just something my employer wanted," Dee said stubbornly.

"So you were there looking for something," Bigby clarified.

"Oh, you two are clever ones I'll give you that. Like one of those blokes from the Star Wars you are," Dee remarked.

"Okay, if you're done being a smartass, what was it? What were you looking for?" I asked, getting pissed at this asshole's smartass attitude.

"An item of interest to my client. That's all I've got to say on that topic," Dee answered.

"All right then. Who's your client? Who are you working for?" Bigby questioned.

"We've got so many, Dum and I are well respected amongst the community, we are. I'd 'ave to consult me diary," Dee said with a smug grin.

"Okay, maybe we'll just go down to your office and go through all your files one by one. How does that sound?" Bigby remarked.

"Just tell them what they want to know, Dee!" Crane chimed in irritably.

"This is a complete waste of time, I'm using the thumbscrew after all," Bluebeard piped up impatiently.

"No you're not Bluebeard! That's not how we operate, so step back and let us do our jobs," I snapped at Bluebeard, daring him to try something.

"See, Beauty said you two were decent blokes. I didn't believe 'er at the time, but clearly I was wrong," Dee said.

"Wait, Beauty? What does she have to do with all this? How do you even know her in the first place?" Bigby questioned in confusion.

I noticed Dee's eyes widened at the slip-up and he started sweating nervously.

"How does anyone know anyone? I meet people, I go places, maybe it was at a film. I love films," Dee evaded.

"Sheriff, Deputy, he's treating you two like the saps that you are," Bluebeard snapped in irritation.

"Bluebeard! This is your last warning. Back the fuck off or you will be escorted out of this room," I warned him, glaring at the "former" serial killer.

If there was one thing my son and I had learned while we've been on the job, is that people like Bluebeard will never understand that pushing hard isn't the only way to get you any results. Those kinds of people are so used to getting what they want that they don't understand that to catch prey, sometimes you have to let it think it's getting away. And that's when you strike.

"Okay Dee, I think we're about done here, just one more question. Why did you kill Snow White?" I dropped the bombshell.

"What?! Are you and the Sheriff mental?! There's no way I could 'ave. I was 'ere with bald and beardy before she was...you know...put out there," Dee protested.

"We see, so it was your Brother who did it then," Bigby said darkly.

"Dum?! That's fucking nonsense! He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Dee exclaimed in shock.

"Seriously?! Wouldn't hurt a fly?! You're talking about the same person who cold cocked me in the back of the head? Well, he looks like a good suspect to us. Does he have an alibi for the past two nights?" I questioned him, leaning close to make Dee uncomfortable.

"He's, uh, been ill. Stayed at 'ome. bit of a cold and all that," Dee lied, his eyes darting left and right.

"That's the best lie you could come up with?" Bigby asked, and when Dee didn't say anything, Bigby continued, " That's what we thought. So unless you're willing to give me and my Deputy some other information, he's our killer. We hope his affairs are in order."

"Wait! Where's all this coming from?" Dee asked us.

"Yesterday, someone killed Faith and left her head on our doorstep. Today, that same someone killed Snow White. You do the math. Someone is going to be punished for this, and unless you start talking, it's going to be your dumbass of a brother. And when I say "punished", I'm talking about me and my son throwing him down the Witching Well, where you'll never see him again," I said coldly.

"You can't let them pursue vigilante Justice right in front of you! Isn't that right Mr. Mayor?" Dee protested to Crane.

"This conversation is between you and them. Don't bring me into this," Crane commented, wanting to stay out of this.

"I see how it is, you two are plannin' on railroadin' me for a crime I didn't commit. Well I ain't having none of it!" Dee yelled angrily.

"We don't care who's punished for it as long as someone is! Why not you and your brother? It's not like anyone would miss you," Bigby snarled, looking like he wanted to tear Dee's head off.

"Bigby! Nathan! You hypocrites! You two say you want the truth, but you are just using a different kind of thumbscrews!" Bluebeard shouted as he was storming over.

"Bluebeard! Shut the fuck up! I'm losing my patience with you!" I roared out in fury.

"Tell me what you know! Tell me the truth!" Bluebeard yelled, ignoring me and punching Dee in the gut, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Bluebeard! That's enough!" Bigby shouted, grabbing Bluebeard's shirt collar and yanking him away from Dee.

"We tried it your way, and we've got precious little to show for it. Now, maybe you're okay with a murderer running around in Fabletown, but I'm not!" Bluebeard snapped at us before slugging Dee across the face.

Having had enough, I stormed over, grabbed Bluebeard, and shoved him hard, making him stumble a few times.

"That is it Bluebeard! Get the fuck out...now!" I snarled, daring this asshole to throw a punch so I could take my pent up emotions out on him.

"You just made a big mistake, Deputy!" Bluebeard growled at me.

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Hit me? Or do you only do this to people who are tied up?" I challenged him with a feral grin, wanting to spill blood.

"Sheriff, you and your "Deputy" are out of your depth. Everyone can see it! Why can't either of you? You both are fine at wrangling drunks and writing tickets for jaywalking, but it's clear you two don't have what it takes to be real Detectives," Bluebeard insulted us.

I was about to retort when Bigby raised a hand and said, "Shut up, I hear something."

"No, I'm fine for cookies, thank you," The voice of someone Bigby and I thought was dead rang out.

 _"No fucking way...it can't be..."_ I thought in shock.

"Oh my God..." Bigby trailed off in disbelief when a familiar person walked in with Hobbes.

"What the Hell is going on here?! Rest assured that when I get to the bottom of this, heads will roll!" The woman exclaimed in outrage.

Bigby, Bluebeard, Dee, Crane and I just stared in stunned silence at Snow White, who was alive and well.


	16. Chapter 16

Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 12, 1986.

Everyone was just staring at Snow, who had her hands on her hips, glaring at me, Bigby, and Bluebeard with a pointed look.

Just when I thought the silence would keep going, Dee broke the tension by saying, "I think I speak for everyone here, an' quite eloquently when I say: What in all the fucks?"

"What's going on here? Bigby? Nathan?" Snow questioned, looking at Bigby and I for answers.

"Snow! My God! We all thought...I hesitate to even say it. It seemed certain you were dead. But, here you are! Clearly not dead. It's just so...so unexpected!" Crane stuttered out, looking like he was going to have a heart attack.

"It's positively shocking, is what it is," Bluebeard stated, looking just as stunned as the rest of us.

"Bigby. Nathan. An answer. Anytime is good," Snow demanded impatiently, getting even more cross when Bigby and I didn't say anything.

Bigby and I still couldn't say anything and how could we? We thought Snow was dead. Hell, we saw her decapitated head for God's sake, but here she was standing right in front of us, looking none too happy and demanding answers.

"You know what, how about we walk and talk, does that sound good?" Snow asked us.

Bigby and I dumbly nodded and the three of us left the room and exited the apartment.

"Snow...how...how can you be alive?" Bigby asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Because I never wasn't, we'll cover that in a bit. More importantly, what the Hell was going on in there? Abusing a prisoner you two? What were you both thinking? I thought you could control yourself Bigby. And you Nathan, I thought you knew better then that," Snow lectured us, poking Bigby's chest.

"Whoa, we didn't lay a hand on him. We wanted to do things the right way, but Bluebeard had other ideas. It's hard to play things by the book when that fucking asshole is being willfully illiterate," I reasoned.

"Then you should've tried harder. It's your job, not his. That's assuming you two still want the job?" Snow asked us.

"Oh sure, more than anything," Bigby agreed.

"Good, because not long after you two dropped me off here, I got a call that took me right back to Toad's place. His son, you two remember T.J? He was shaken up, but eventually Toad and I calmed him down enough to tell us what was wrong," Snow explained as we walked into the elevator.

"And?" I inquired.

"And...he led us straight to a body. We thought it was Faith at the time, but now I'm not so sure. Getting the body back here wasn't easy, but hopefully it'll give us some clue to help stop the killer," Snow informed us.

 _"Oh Hell, T.J found a body? God, that poor kid must be traumatized. No one should have to witness something like that,"_ I thought in horror.

"We should've been there. It's like you said a second ago, it's our job, not yours," Bigby said in concern.

"Bigby, I'm tied up in this whether I want to be or not. This girl...she looked just like me. I can't help but think that's why she was killed. I know there are Fables who don't like me, but for her to have to pay the price...it just isn't fair," Snow said, looking completely guilty.

I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "We know it isn't. And, as much as Bigby and I hate to point this out...if someone wants you dead, they'll eventually realize they missed their target..."

"And then I'm in danger all over again," Snow clarified.

"No, we're gonna make sure nothing happens to you," Bigby reassured.

"You and your Father can't protect all the Fables all the time, Sheriff. It just isn't possible," Snow said.

"Look, we're doing everything we can to find answers. Who's the killer? Why was the victim glamoured to look like you? We're doing our job, Snow. The only way we know how," I said.

"And I'm supposed to do what in the meantime? Sit around in the business office, playing Crane's errand girl, and wait for the Big Bad Wolf and his Father to solve all my problems?" Snow questioned bitterly.

"Whoa, hey, that's not what I meant," I defended.

"Then what did you mean?! I told you two, I'm tired of sitting around! I'm not going to be an errand girl for Crane anymore!" Snow exclaimed in frustration.

"We just want you to be careful, we nearly lost you once-" Bigby said softly, putting his hand on Snow's shoulder.

"I'm not yours to lose!" Snow yelled, smacking Bigby's hand away.

The elevator doors opened and we walked over to the entrance of the business office, stopped in front of the door, and Bigby lit up a smoke.

"Sorry, I'm sorry about that. I just...I'm not helpless, I can take care of myself. I've done it for centuries," Snow said, looking ashamed.

"Yeah, that's fine. Why don't we go talk to T.J," Bigby said.

Bigby gestured for Snow to go first and seeing the kind gesture reminded me of Salem again.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _"After you Master Crane," Bigby said kindly as he and I gestured for him to leave his house first._

 _"Why thank you Mr. Wolf, Mr Pierce. And might I say that your lessons in gentility are coming along far faster then I had dared hope! I had feared upon your arrival that you both might already be a lost cause, but you have shown that even mongrels may heel as if pedigreed!" Crane exclaimed happily as we walked out of the building._

 _"You are...kind to speak it so plainly," I said hesitantly. Bigby and I looked at each other, not knowing whether to take that as a complement or an insult._

 _"Indeed!" Crane said cheerfully as we kept walking._

 _Then we spotted an older gentleman approaching and Crane whispered bitterly, "Here comes Doctor Griggs. Likelier to tipple in his own laudanum supply then to prescribe even a drop to an ailing Schoolteacher."_

 _When Griggs walked up, Crane put on a pleasant smile and said, "And hello, good doctor! Many happy returns of the day to you, sir!"_

 _"Doctor," Bigby and I chimed in, bowing our heads slightly._

 _"Good day Master Crane, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Pierce. I trust you three are well?" Griggs asked politely, tipping his hat._

 _"Aye, and by your good graces we shall remain so!" Crane said._

 _Griggs smiled and walked away. Once he was far enough away, Crane dropped the act and sneered at Griggs, mumbling,"Doddering old fool wouldn't know his ear from a chamber pot 'tll they were both full of piss."_

 _I frowned at the rude comment but didn't say anything. As we kept walking, we saw an older bearded gentleman who smiled when he saw us._

 _"By and by we meet Giles Corey. A more litigious wretch the New World has never suffered," Crane insulted quietly before putting up another pleasant front._

 _"Beautiful day, isn't it gentlemen?" Corey asked us as we approached each other._

 _"It must be as you say, Mr. Corey. I would hate to be dragged to court for arguing otherwise!" Crane quipped as he let out a hearty chuckle._

 _"Mr. Wolf, Mr Pierce. How may he jest so lightly, when he is so burdened with wit? Eh?" Giles asked us humorously._

 _"We...we know not sir," Bigby said as the three of us passed Giles and continued walking._

 _"My wit is a rapier, you sour cuss. It's only that I must wield it like a stone cudgel before it pierces your monkey skull," Crane growled under his breath._

 _When we arrived in town, we saw a man walking and Crane said, "Oh, and at last our perambulations cause our paths to cross that of one John Proctor."_

 _"And as easily uncross it Master Crane. I've no quarrel with you today," John said, glaring at him._

 _"You've never had a kind word for me Proctor, and I can scarce believe you'd muster one in the moment," Crane stated bitterly._

 _"Crane, I will do you better then a word. I will do you a favor. You know well how rumor wends through our small town. I will warn you, for your own betterment, not to be drawn in by the wiles of your student, Abigail Williams," John warned._

 _"A favor you call this! How noble! Miss Williams is my pupil, and I am involved with her insofar as it befits and benefits her education. Can you...dare you...claim the same and call yourself a Christian man, tongue untouched by falsehoods?!" Crane protested._

 _"Whatever you know, or think you know, you would do well to forget. And if you believe even a whisper of it, you'll know well why you should keep fair distance from your pupil!" John argued back._

 _"Aye...so as not to show her what a real man looks like, when in your household, she saw only a gelding," Crane insulted, and I knew that I needed to stop this before a fistfight broke out._

 _"Please cease this, good sirs. You are creating such an ugly sight. What would the good people of Salem think if they saw you two come to blows?" I intervened._

 _John glared at me, then at Crane before saying, "I might strike you Crane, but being that your men Wolf and Pierce are by your side, I dislike my odds."_

 _"And were I alone, you should dislike them as well. A man should not swing a fist when he hasn't a leg to stand on, Mr. Proctor. It is the simplest way to fall," Crane said smugly._

 _"Impudent cur!" John exclaimed angrily when he turned around and stormed off._

 _"Pitiful coward," Crane grumbled as we started to head into town._

 _"That man, Proctor...why was he so angry with you?" Bigby asked in confusion._

 _"Because I told him truths he would sooner not hear," Crane explained while we walked through the bustling streets of Salem._

 _"His warning about Abigail Williams...do you really think he meant to protect you?" I questioned._

 _"Oh Heavens, no. He meant to keep me from trespassing on what he considers his property," Crane waved it off as we entered the tavern, gave our orders and took our drinks to our table._

 _"Then...why not say as much? Why couch it in concern for you?" Bigby asked in confusion, not understanding why Crane is ignoring the problem._

 _"Let this be another lesson in your continuing lessons, Mr. Wolf. What separates men from beasts, is the ability to deceive," Crane lectured before drinking from his mug._

 _As I was drinking, I thought about what Proctor had said and couldn't get it out of my head. It seemed his warning was genuine, like he was truly worried for Crane, so I decided to keep an eye on Abigail to make sure there was nothing evil occurring in Salem._

* * *

I snapped myself out of reminiscing by shaking my head as Bigby, Snow, and I walked over and stopped to see that Toad and T.J. were looking in the Magic Mirror.

"T.J.'s over there. I don't know if you want to talk to him first or after, but just let me know when you two are ready to see the body. I'd...I want to be there," Snow said to us and walked over to where Bufkin was sitting and asked, "Bufkin? Do you have a second?"

"Of course, Miss Snow," Bufkin said.

As they were chatting, I saw the tarot cards on the table and I started thinking about how the events that were depicted in those cards seemed to have come true. Hesitantly walking over, I picked up the first card that depicted three swords running through a heart and the card had the title Three of swords.

"Well, that's just lovely," I remarked dryly.

Putting the card down, I picked up the next card which depicted two large foreboding towers, a wolf and a dog howling at the moon that had face that was frowning, and a crayfish that was in the water. The title on the card said The Moon.

"The Moon? Usually this is about deception or confusion. But for either me or my son, who the Hell knows," I mumbled and put the card down.

I picked up the last card and saw an elderly man that was wearing a gray hooded cloak and holding a staff and a lantern. The title said The Hermit.

"Huh, I hope you can find what you're looking for," I said and put the card down and walked over to the book of Fables, resting on a nearby table.

Looking at Beauty and Beast, I said in amusement, "Those two, always putting on a show for each other."

When Bigby walked over to where I was, he asked, "Hey Dad, you looking through the book again?"

"Yeah. Hey son, answer me this, if someone back in the Homelands told you that this is how our lives were going to become in the future, how would you react?" I asked him.

"Well, I probably would've laughed before eating them," Bigby stated.

"True," I agreed and kept looking.

"Seems like not much has changed between us and Woody," Bigby commented when he saw the image of himself in his eight foot tall wolf form, charging at Woody and Red.

"No, but maybe a little. When we were driving Woody and Dee back here, I think I heard a hint of respect in his voice," I explained.

"Huh, Woody respecting us, talk about irony," Bigby remarked.

I let out a slight chuckle and we kept looking through the book until our eyes laid upon the image of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

"We meant what we said, Snow," Bigby muttered to himself.

I had noticed that ever since we met Snow, Bigby would gaze at her with a look of longing whenever she wasn't looking at him. I knew what was going on with him but I wanted to confirm it by asking my son.

"So, you seem to like Snow a lot," I said.

"She's a co-worker and a good friend. How could I not like her?" Bigby asked.

"Or maybe you like her more then that," I pointed out, and Bigby's eyes widened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bigby evaded, looking anywhere but at me.

"Oh for fuck's sake. Bigby, I'm your Father. I wasn't born yesterday. Let me guess, you caught her scent, you just can't get it out of your mind, and it's drawing you to her. You feel like you want to protect her and always stay by her side, no matter what. Am I right?" I questioned.

Bigby looked at me in surprise and asked, "How did you know?"

"Because I was the same way when I met your Mother. I...wasn't in a very good place when she found me and when I caught her scent, I just couldn't get it out of my head and it was drawing me to her. You could say that another reason why I fell in love with her is because she showed me compassion while I was still recently trying to process some really mentally scarring trauma I went through. She could've not helped me but she did, she helped a complete stranger, even though it was risky for her and she gave me a home when I had nowhere to go. I guess you could say I fell in love with her at that time," I explained with a soft genuine smile, fondly remembering Winter comforting me in that clearing where I woke up as a giant gray wolf after I had crashed the truck as my friends, co-workers, Joseph Seed and I were fleeing to Dutch's bunker as nuclear warheads were dropping in and around Hope County.

"Really? I didn't know that," Bigby said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me son. Now that you admit that you see Snow as your future mate, are you going to tell her?" I asked him.

"It's not that easy, Dad. So I tell her I see her as more then a good friend and she could accept it, but what if she rejects me? Snow has trust issues and I don't blame her after what Prince Charming did to her. So what do I do, Dad? How do I tell her without looking like a fucking dumbass?" Bigby questioned, looking completely lost.

"I can't give you the answer to that son, you'll just have to find it yourself. You'll tell her when the time is right but as for right now, let's get back to focusing on this murder investigation," I said, and Bigby nodded.

When Bigby saw the image of Badger and Toad in the Fables book, he commented, "Haven't seen Badger in a while."

"He likes his privacy, I think," I said.

"Wish Toad would like his a bit more," Bigby grumbled and we continued looking.

When I saw the image of Faith and her Father Edward, I swore, "We will get to the bottom of this, I swear it."

Looking at the image of Faith sadly, Bigby and I left the table and walked over to Toad and T.J.

When Toad turned around and saw us, his eyes widened in panic and he exclaimed to the mirror, "Ah, that's enough. Mirror! Vanish! Cancel!"

"Toad, what are you doing? Who were you spying on?" Bigby asked in confusion.

"No one. Exactly what it looks like," Toad lied.

I rolled my eyes, walked over to T.J., and knelt down, giving a comforting smile.

"Hey there T.J. Mr. Wolf and I heard from Miss White that you saw something really scary, huh?" I asked softly.

"...Yes, I did..." T.J. sniffled, looking scared.

"I'm sorry you had to see that kiddo. Now T.J, are you ready to talk to me and Mr. Wolf? If you don't want to talk about what happened, then just say no and we won't be mad," I reassured.

"Okay...I think I'm ready," T.J. said, nodding slightly.

"It's okay kid, just start from the beginning," Bigby said and he put his hand gently on T.J.'s shoulder.

"I go...I go swimming at night sometimes. Just to clear my head. I wasn't doing anything bad, I promise," T.J. said.

"It's okay, I go out walking at night sometimes to clear my head too. So you're not in trouble. You can tell us what happened," I reassured him.

"I was...under the big blocks, and I heard noisy feet. And when that happens, I'm supposed to hide underwater as long as I can," T.J. said.

"That's right son," Toad said, keeping his arm around his son's shoulders.

"But that's when I saw...the lady! She fell in...and...and she didn't have her head on! And I was scared that she might drag me down too, 'cause she had rocks on her feet," T.J. explained, trembling.

"She had cinder-blocks tied to her ankles," Snow clarified when she walked over to us.

"Okay, was there anything else at all T.J.?" Bigby asked him.

"N-No, only...is it...is it true that you and Mr. Pierce know when people are lying?" T.J asked nervously.

"Yep, it's what makes us so good at our jobs," Bigby responded with a smile.

T.J. then looked at his Father and said, "Please don't be mad."

"What is it T.J?" Snow asked softly.

"There's one other thing," T.J. said.

"Oh? What is it? Don't worry T.J., we won't be mad," I said calmly.

"I didn't...I couldn't stay underwater the whole time, I was too scared," T.J confessed, prompting Toad to put his hands on his head in disbelief.

"What?!" Toad exclaimed in outrage.

"Easy Toad," Bigby warned him.

"He's my son! There are rules for a reason!" Toad exclaimed stubbornly.

"Toad! Leave him alone, the poor kid is traumatized. Yelling at him is not going to help," I said sternly.

"So you didn't stay underwater," Snow prompted.

"I don't know if anyone saw me, but someone said, "Stop laughing at me." And then I got scared and I went under for as long as I could," T.J. said.

"Did you recognize the voice?" I asked carefully.

"No! When I came back up, I was alone and I ran all the way home! And that's where I want to go now!" T.J. yelled in distress, leaning into his dad and sobbing.

"Okay son, let's get you home," Toad said softly.

"You did a very good job T.J., thanks," Bigby said warmly, putting his hand on T.J.'s shoulder.

"Toad, make sure that T.J. talks to somebody, 'cause he could really use a friend right now," I said seriously, and Toad nodded to me as he and his son left.

"So...that went about as well as I expected," Snow remarked.

"Sure did," Bigby agreed as we stood up.

"God...that poor kid. No one should ever have to see what he saw, especially at his age," I said sympathetically.

"I know. Well, I'm not thrilled about it, but I guess it's time to go look at a dead body," Snow said uncomfortably.

"Great, I just know that's going to be fun," Bigby grumbled when we started walking to the Witching Well Chamber.

* * *

 _"Ugh. God, I hate this shit,"_ I thought uneasily while we were staring at the deceased body and head of the glamoured Fable.

"You'll excuse me, but I'm far too sober for this," Bufkin said warily and flew out of the chamber, leaving us alone.

"Wow...I didn't realize...I've never seen her face before now," Snow said, looking disturbed.

"Are you gonna be okay? You don't have to stay," Bigby said in concern.

"I want to stay. I'll be fine, it's just...a little strange. The glamour is so effective, it's...invasive. But...just do what you need to do. So, what are we looking for?" Snow asked us.

"Anything that might identify her. Anything suspicious or out of place," I said while Bigby and I were examining the head.

"My God you two, she looks so much like me. It makes me feel...dislocated. Like part of me is lying on that table. Who is she?" Snow asked us.

"We don't know. She does look an awful lot like you, but the likeness isn't perfect. From straight on, she's a dead, uh...she's a near duplicate. But from the side, the likeness is a little less convincing," Bigby informed.

"I don't know, I don't see the difference. But look, the clothes are wrong. I don't wear a brooch for one thing, and her jacket has four buttons while mine only has three. And they're a different shape too. But what does any of this tell us?" Snow asked us.

"We don't know yet. You know, this makes me think of something Toad said the other day. That the witches' prices keep going up, but the quality of their glamours keeps going down," I said.

"I find it hard to imagine any of the ladies on the 13th floor doing a glamour on me if they thought there was any chance I'd find out about it. Do you think someone is selling black market glamours?" Snow asked us.

"We don't know, maybe. Snow, I need to...undress her, are you..." Bigby hesitantly asked.

"I'm fine Bigby, it's all part of the job," Snow gave the go ahead and Bigby took off the jacket and shirt, and we saw a seductive looking bra.

"Oh boy, this is pretty awkward," I mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Well, the similarity ends here, that's for sure. I'm afraid I'm not quite that racy in the underwear department," Snow remarked wryly.

"Um..." Was the only intelligent thing Bigby could say since he was blushing and trying hard to keep his professional front intact.

"No blushing Bigby, it really does a number on your "Tough guy" appearance," Snow teased, which didn't make Bigby feel any better.

Wanting to move on, I pointed to the injection marks and informed, "Look here, track marks. Given her expensive habit and her choice in...fashion, I think it's a pretty safe bet that we can assume what this girl did for a living."

"You're saying she was a prostitute? But why would a prostitute be glamoured to look like me? That doesn't...oh. Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick," Snow said in horrid realization, covering her mouth and looking like she was going to throw up.

"Ugh, I have seen some pretty fucked up things throughout the centuries, but this is disgusting," I commented, feeling shocked and disgusted that someone saw Snow like that but considering how many sick perverts live in Fabletown, it shouldn't surprise me.

Suddenly, we heard the door open and the three of us turned to see that it was Crane and Bufkin approaching.

"Well, what have we learned?" Crane asked eagerly.

"And is it over yet?" Bufkin chimed in.

"We're working on it, these things take time," I said pointedly.

"Time is one luxury we most certainly cannot afford, Deputy. Need I remind you and the Sheriff that there is a murderer on the loose?" Crane lectured impatiently.

"Actually, you don't need to. Believe it or not, it hadn't slipped our minds. You know-" Bigby could've said more but Snow tapped him on the shoulder and we looked to see that Snow was holding small cube that had a picture of a white deer on all sides.

"Bigby, Nathan, look. Have ether of you seen anything like this?" Snow asked us, handing the cube over to me so that we could examine it more closely.

"What the fuck is that? Some kind of old-fashioned spell container?" I questioned while me and Bigby kept looking.

"It looks like one, but I don't recognize this style. It's not like any of the witches we work with," Snow replied, looking completely puzzled.

"Well, let's just see what's inside," Bigby said, and he started trying to pry open the cube.

"Stop, you imbecile! You don't know what's in there! It could be something dangerous, a curse perhaps!" Crane exclaimed in panic.

"I'll take my chances," Bigby grunted with the effort of trying to open the cube by force.

"For all you know, that thing could explode if you open it!" Crane yelled, causing Bigby to stop and look at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Crane, why the hell would a working girl be carrying a bomb in her fantasy roleplay costume?" Bigby questioned and went back to trying to pry the cube open.

"Will you just listen to me!" Crane snapped in irritation.

As Bigby kept trying to open the cube, I noticed that the white deer on it looked familiar and before I knew it, memories of Salem came flooding back again.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _"Mr. Wolf, Mr. Pierce, are you listening?" Crane barked at us._

 _"Yes, Master Crane," Bigby said distractedly as he was looking out the window._

 _"Of course Master Crane," I said, also looking out the window and eying a beautiful white doe._

 _"Good. Now, as I was saying, the marks of a truly genteel man are his deportment and his facility with language. Mark it you two. The drawling manner of many of these Salem bumpkins would chill the blood of a decent Englishman..." Crane started to say, but I drowned out the rest of it._

 _I just couldn't keep my eyes off the white deer. When she took off into the forest, Bigby and I climbed out the windows and ran after the doe._

 _While we were running after the doe, I decided to slowly shift back to my eight foot tall wolf form to enjoy the change. Gray fur covered all over me as my arms and legs slowly stretched and snapped into wolf legs. My torso barreled out and my hips cracked and popped into a quadruped shape. I felt my tail growing and I groaned at the unexplainable intense pleasure that was running through my body. Lastly, my ears formed into triangular wolf ears and my face slowly pushed out into a full muzzle while my skull morphed and compressed into a wolf's head and my size kept growing until I was eight feet tall at the shoulders. I let out an orgasmic howl at the euphoric feeling of slowly changing into my wolf form, noticing that my shapeshifting had never felt this good before. I hadn't felt this kind of pleasure since I mated with Winter and I knew that there was something different about changing shape now, something about it felt more primal._

 _Looking at Bigby while I was running on all fours, I saw that he had changed into his wolf form and was running alongside me. The two of us kept chasing the doe and I let my tongue loll out at the thrill of the hunt. The doe went through a few bushes and when Bigby and I crashed through as well, the doe was gone. We started smelling the surrounding area for a scent. We kept looking around in the forest, the full moon shining down on us, and we came across seven small graves. Digging the graves up, I was horrified when I saw the skeletons of children. We then perked up when we spotted the doe on a cliff and we charged at her, prompting her to take off and we continued the chase._

 _"Oh fuck...I've truly missed this," I thought wistfully as we kept running after the deer, our powerful lupine muscles working hard._

 _It was then that I heard a voice chant, "Come to us Devil-Man! Come here to 'dis place and dance with us in 'dese woods! Come and bring your dark art, Devil-Man! Come an' give us your gift Devil-man! Come an' give us your love Devil-Man!"_

 _When Bigby and I busted into a clearing, we saw the shocking sight of a naked Abigail and her friends along with other girls and a dark skinned woman dancing around a campfire._

 _I groaned quietly as I felt myself pleasurably changing back into my human form and Bigby and I stared at the naked girls._

 _"What...what manner of..." Bigby barely spoke in stunned disbelief._

 _"Feel the cold wind whippin' even thru the flames, my girls! Feel the ground set to tremblin'! I has summoned forth the Devil and his Thrall, jus' as I told you all I was gon' to! Quickly girls, we mus' drink of the blood! We mus' seal the compact!" The woman with dark skin instructed._

 _"Er...I have read it's a carnal compact the devil seeks," Abigail said, and I was horrified and revolted that she and the other girls that were pre-teens and teenagers were offering to have sex with two grown adult men._

 _"Wait, we pray thee! Forgive my saying, but we believe you are in error! I am no Devil, and he is not my Thrall. We are nothing more then common men!" Bigby tried to reason._

 _"I feel compelled to correct you on that count, sir, and happily. It is true they were scholars with us of late, overlarge for the school's desks, yet middling at maths!" Abigail explained._

 _"You say you two are mere men...but the devil-man of Barbados would truck in lies and claim the same. Whether you is or you isn't he, our need for you and your thrall is done dis night. By and by are you two banished from our circle! You are thrice compelled to go!" The dark skinned woman said sternly and pointed to the forest._

 _"Thrice compelled! Thrice compelled!" The other girls chanted mockingly._

 _Having had enough of this behavior, I roared out, "For shame all of you! Practicing the devil's black arts will get you all hanged or burned at the stake! And you Betty, you poor misguided little one. Your Father, the good Reverend would drop dead in horror at such a frightful sight! Come along Bigby, let us flee from this horrible scene, lest we be bewitched even more by these foul demons."_

 _Bigby and I ran away from the clearing and when we were far enough away, we shifted back into our wolf forms and headed back to the Schoolhouse. After shifting back into our human forms, clothes formed on me and we climbed through the windows of the Schoolhouse, and saw Crane standing at his desk with his arms crossed, glaring daggers at us._

 _"Ah, you've both seen fit to return to our tutoring at last? I take two steps forward with you ungrateful lot, only for you both to make a dozen pounding paw prints back! There is not enough man in you two for me to teach! Mr. Wolf, there is naught but lupine excreta in the ten-penny suit that you clearly abandoned! There's not a word in this world either of you could utter in your defense in this moment!" Crane shouted in disappointment as he tossed Bigby some clothes and my son put them on.  
_

 _"Witchery! Master Crane, we were called into the woods as if by a clarion meant for our ears alone. We followed a deer-nay, I cannot say whether she were a phantasm-and she led us to a place of such horrors!" Bigby explained in shock._

 _"Speak it misters, I command you!" Crane demanded._

 _"In a clearing, we scented death. We found at our paws seven barrows. By anyone else, they might have gone unnoticed. But digging, we confirmed our fears. Seven infant skeletons, their swaddling clothes turned to rags, their flesh a feast for worms," I stated in disgust._

 _"Seven...the Putnam stillbirths, fascinating," Crane said curiously, his hand on his chin._

 _"Scarce had we taken our clumsy bows in this dumb-show, but we were compelled deeper into the woods...whereupon we tumbled to the coven who offered the lifeless babes up to their dark master," I continued, shuddering and feeling really disturbed about what Bigby and I had seen._

 _"Witches! And you both saw them yourselves?! But this is most excellent! I would have their names quickly, before they slip through sieve of your simple brains!" Crane exclaimed excitedly._

 _"Their leader, we knew her not. She were black as pitch, and called the Devil from faraway Barbados," Bigby explained._

 _"Aha! This needs must be Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris," Crane said and he wrote the name on the chalkboard._

 _"Aye. The young Parris girl were there with her too. Betty was her name," I pointed out._

 _"For the children, I care little. Were there other grown women besides Tituba in the woods, my students? That meddlesome hag Rebecca Nurse? The derelict Sarah Good?" Crane asked us in anticipation._

 _"No Master. Our eyes are sharp, and the only adult we saw was the slave woman. But she led a merry dance of demon daughters, whose bodies filled these very desks only hours before...albeit more modestly garbed. Some we did not know by name, only by scent. Some, not even that. But mark it. We traded words with Mercy Lewis, Susanna Walcott, Mary Warren, Abigail Williams-" Bigby named the girls we saw and suddenly got slapped hard by Crane._

 _"Bigby! Why did you strike him Master Crane? What has my cub done to upset you so?" I questioned as I was checking my son to see if he was okay._

 _"Mark it my students, and mark it well. Neither of you are to speak that girl's name in the same breath as "Witchery" again, lest that breath be your last," Crane threatened and I glared at him with a pissed off expression._

 _"We know what we saw...Master," Bigby growled, clutching his cheek._

 _"You said yourself that you and your Father were bedeviled. That you lot were compelled by forces beyond your ken. Could it not also be true that your keen eyes might have been made to deceive you? That your great snouts have been tricked? No, I am quite confident that you did not see Abigail Williams among the coven of...naked girls dancing 'neath the moonglow. That poor child has been dealt more then her fair share of persecution in this town, what with all the misunderstandings surrounding her time at the Proctors. The last thing she needs is you ungrateful lot, however noble your intentions, dragging her name into a conversation on the dark arts. To be accused of witchcraft? In this town? Why, it's the sort of thing that could destroy a person," Crane said smugly, and my eyes widened in horror when he wrote John Proctor's name down._

* * *

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard a loud crack and I looked to see that Bigby had gotten the cube open.

"So it's definitely magic," Bigby commented and pulled a small photo along with a lock of black hair.

"What the Hell?" Snow said and looked at the picture of herself sitting at her desk doing paperwork and she exclaimed in shock, "This is a picture of me in the business office! I don't remember anyone taking this."

Bigby sniffed the lock of hair and said, "This is a lock of your hair, Snow."

"You know what my hair smells like?" Snow asked, looking a little creeped out.

"Wolf senses, Snow. My Deputy and I know what lots of people's hair smell like," Bigby explained.

 _"Thanks son, make me out to seem like some kind of creep why don't you,"_ I thought sarcastically.

Suddenly, the body of the deceased Fable started glowing and everyone recoiled.

"What's going on?!" Crane exclaimed uneasily.

"The glamour, that's what the spellbox was. Now the spell is broken. And now we find out who our victim really is..." Snow trailed off and her eyes widened when the glow died down to reveal a troll on the table.

"Oh for the love of...it's a troll!" Crane exclaimed in disgust.

"I'm sorry, are you implying that her life is less valuable because of that?" Snow irritably asked while glaring daggers at Crane for his disrespect.

"Of course not! But you must admit that trolls are known for a certain lifestyle, and the Fable community may not be as...surprised," Crane explained, not knowing that he was digging himself into a deeper hole.

"Or concerned. Is that what you are saying? Jesus Crane, you think people won't care as much because she wasn't a person, is that it?" Bigby snapped at him.

"Watch your tone with me Sheriff, I'm still the Mayor of this community," Crane warned.

"Hm...I know who we need to talk to. I think I know who this is," Snow said.

"Um, no offense intended Snow, but are you sure it's a good idea going out? Someone murdered this poor girl thinking it was you," I asked tentatively.

"I am forced to agree with Nathan. You must stay here and let these two handle this," Crane piped up.

"Okay. Well, while you three are deciding what's best for me, I'll be at the Trip Trap talking to Holly," Snow said stubbornly and walked out of the room.

"Snow, wait!" Crane shouted as Snow was leaving.

"Whoa, we didn't say "Must." That was just Crane!" Bigby called out but she was gone.

"Go after her. You two must keep her safe. Do you hear me?" Crane ordered us.

"You heard the lady, Crane. She doesn't want either of us on that job. But yeah, we'll do it," I agreed and Crane walked over to where the body was and he started writing in his notebook.

"I feel for this poor soul. Really, I do. But the truth is that because she's...what she is, some people won't care as much about her murder. We need to keep the investigation focused on Faith for the time being," Crane lectured us.

"Don't tell us what we need to focus on, Crane," Bigby grumbled.

"I deal in practical matters, Bigby. I don't have the luxury of romanticizing my work. Which I have far too much of. If you'll excuse me," Crane said rudely and walked out of the room.

 _"Says the guy who hasn't seen the dark side of 5:00 pm during his entire tenure in the office,"_ I thought dryly.

Looking at the dead Fable, I shook my head sadly and vowed, "We don't know who you are, and we don't know who did this to you, but we will find out. And my son and I will make them pay."

Taking one last look at the body, Bigby and I started walking out of the room and headed to my car so we could drive to the Trip Trap Bar.


	17. Chapter 17

The Trip Trap Bar, Bronx, New York City, America, June 12, 1986.

I pulled up to the curb, we got out, and I locked the doors. Then Snow, Bigby, and I headed inside the bar. I felt like groaning in irritation when I saw Jack.

"...C'mon Holly, I need entertainment," Jack started to say, then he perked up when he saw us and continued, "This'll do."

Wanting to break the tension that was in the air, I asked, "Holly, do you have a minute?"

"I don't think so, I'm pretty slammed here Nate," Holly said.

"Miss White, I heard you had kind of a strange morning," Jack piped up.

"It's been "kind of a strange morning" for everyone, I think," Snow said sarcastically.

"Every time I see these guys, they seem to lose weight. It's amazing, it really is. They lose weight and yet somehow, they keep all the muscle. Hey Sheriff, Deputy, now that you both are here, why don't you tell us about the body they hauled out of the east river this morning. It was a Fable...right?" Jack inquired, putting his arms around our shoulders and receiving barely tolerant looks from me and Bigby.

"What, how the hell did you..." Bigby tried to say.

"Everybody knows buddy, Tweedle Dee was just here," Jack explained and I started rubbing my eyes in irritation and cursing Crane's name under my breath.

"Crane must've let him go, that prick," I grumbled.

"Damn him!" Snow exclaimed in frustration, looking just as pissed as the rest of us.

"Yeah, Dee had all sorts of interesting trivia to share. Said the body had to have been Snow White, which clearly isn't the case, and I'm sure we're all relieved blah, blah, blah. Then he said you two and Bluebeard tied him to a chair and did some Nazi dental torture on him. Kept asking "Is it safe?"," Jack said mockingly.

"Jack! Find your off switch! Now!" Holly yelled.

"What is it with you two? You and Gren are all "Let's get a posse together" when there's no one else around. But, when Wile E. Coyote and Ralph Wolf show up, your tails go between your legs. Cat got your nerve? What happened?" Jack asked.

"What happened? I'm tired is what happened," Holly said lowly.

"Tired of what?" Jack asked.

"Of trouble Jack. I'm sick and tired of trouble. I don't want any more. So just stop riling them up or wait outside or fuck the hell off, I don't care which," Holly snapped in irritation.

"Jack," I said sternly.

"What? Bigby, Nathan, look, two Fables are dead. And shit, Gren's sister-" Jack started to say and he was cut off by Gren.

"Holly's sister," Gren interrupted while leering at Jack.

"Holly's sister has been missing for what, a few days now? And we haven't heard one word about it from anyone," Jack said.

"Actually...have there been any updates? On my sister?" Holly asked us and I knew that this was not going to be fun.

"Holly...I don't know how to say this to you but...the woman we found in the river..." I trailed off.

"Who was it?" Holly asked tentatively.

"You know who it was..." Bigby said sorrowfully and Holly looked away, trying hard not to cry.

"Damn...I sure walked into that one," Jack commented.

"If you say one more thing...one more fucking thing..." Gren trailed off, shooting a threatening glare at Jack. Jack shrugged off the look as he walked over to a wall and leaned on it.

"God fucking damn it! Of course Snow fucking White is all safe and sound! Where the fuck were you two when we reported this weeks ago, huh?! Where are you when we ever fucking need you?! If either of you gave one ounce of a shit about her! About any of us, she might've been saved! She might've been cared for! She might've been-" Gren shouted in fury and was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering and my eyes widened when I saw Holly in her troll form, looking at Snow with fury.

 **"Get the fuck out of my bar,"** Holly snarled in rage.

"I'm sorry Holly, I wished that this had ended better. If there's anything-" Snow tried to say and moved to put her hand on Holly's shoulder.

 **"If you touch me, I'm gonna show everyone here what the inside of your skull looks like. It should've been you princess,"** Holly threatened menacingly.

"Whoa, let's not say anything we can't take back," I placated, raising my hands to calm Holly down.

Snow took out the brooch from her pocket, gave it to Holly and said," We...recovered this from her personal affects. I thought you might like to have it."

 **"I...I didn't know she still had this. The copper's from a dwarf mine. It's very rare and very old,"** Holly explained.

"Thank you for doing that for Holly, Snow. That was very decent of you," Bigby said softly and received a smile from Snow.

 **"Gren, Jack, take off for a bit, would ya? I just...I just need some time alone for a while,"** Holly said sorrowfully.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Gren inquired.

"Let's go hitch a ride someplace. In my experience, nothing bad has ever come of hitchhiking," Jack said and he and Gren left the bar.

Once they were gone, Holly started talking about her sister and what she was like and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

 **"...And Lily, y'know, she was a big girl...but this city was so much bigger. I think she just got lost in it. Maybe I could've helped her find her way, but we didn't talk much,"** Holly explained.

"Why was that?" Snow asked.

 **"Ah, God, it seems so petty when I say it out loud, but...I didn't just want to watch her wither away. I thought she'd finally kicked the Mundy drugs, but she was still..."** Holly trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

"Escorting," Snow said respectfully.

 **"Hooking White, don't pretty it up on my account. She was paying down her debt where she worked- that shithole club with it's shithole "Fees","** Holly explained.

"A club? What club?" Bigby asked.

 **"The Pudding 'n Pie. The guy that runs the place, Georgie, he's got all his girls owing him a little here, a little there, until the next thing they know, they're staring down ten lifetimes of debt,"** Holly said bitterly.

"Sounds like a solid lead," Snow said.

I nodded while I thought about the name 'Georgie' that Holly mentioned. That was the second time someone had mentioned that name and I had a feeling that it wasn't a coincidence. Looks like Bigby and I needed to head over to the Pudding 'N Pie to see if we could find a lead on Faith and Lily's killer.

"Holly, whatever we could do to make this right..." Snow offered.

 **"Naw, I'm better off dealing with this alone. I don't need your pity and I don't need your charity,"** Holly refused.

"It's not charity Holly, it's looking out for our own," Snow said.

 **"Well, fuck, guess I gotta go down to the office and get her,"** Holly grumbled.

"Holly, I'll...I'll see to it that the funeral arrangements are paid for. You don't need to worry-" Snow started to say, but she was cut off when Holly raised her hand and shook her head.

 **"You're sweet, but you don't know anything Miss White. It's a custom with trolls to burn our dead before sunrise, or...I don't know. Some old-world shit with our souls. And that kinda thing is rarely good,"** Holly explained, and when a new song on the jukebox started playing, Holly smiled and pointed out, **"Hey, 'the 59th Street Bridge Song.' Lily loved this one. I told her she couldn't have picked a more clichéd choice for troll. She told me to go shove a Simon up my Garfunkel."**

Then Holly's smile disappeared and she started sobbing out, **"I miss her...I miss her so fucking much."**

I walked over as she was shifting back to her human form and I said, "We'll get whoever hurt your sister, Holly. Just go with Snow, she can make sure you get your sister."

"Thank you Nate. And listen, about what Gren said, you not caring about us, he didn't mean that," Holly said.

"I know, he's just frustrated with the current system. I don't blame him at all," I said.

Holly smiled and when I turned around to head over to Bigby, he was walking over to me.

"I found out where the Pudding 'N Pie is at. It's on the Crooked Mile," Bigby notified me.

"Good work son," I praised him and we left the bar and drove to the club.

While we were driving through the Crooked Mile, I saw prostitutes giving us sultry looks and shady looking people giving us glares. It wasn't long until we arrived at the Pudding 'N Pie and we got out, walked passed the bouncer and entered the building.

"Hey! Hold on there pals, we ain't open yet!" The bouncer complained.

"You are for us," Bigby waved him off dismissively with a flash of his badge.

We walked down the hallway and took a left into a large open room where most of the business would take place. I saw a woman on a stripper pole, dancing with a frown on her face for a man that was wearing black shoes, brown pants, a black tank top, and a straight rimed bowler hat. I also noticed that he was covered in tattoos from what I could see and he was complaining in a strong English accent above the loud music blaring from a radio on the table next to him.

"Aw, for fuck sakes! What do you think you're doing?! You look like your trying to take a shit! Who gonna want that?! No one's gonna want that! You fucking dozy bitch!" The man, who I assumed was Georgie, was snapping at the woman in irritation.

 _"Nice guy, seems like a real prince,"_ I thought sarcastically as we were walking up to where the man was sitting.

"Oh c'mon, put some heart into it! You're making me wilt over here!" The man complained.

"We're looking for Georgie," Bigby announced, and the man narrowed his eyes when he saw us.

"Sorry mates, club's closed. Moose out front should've told you," The man dismissed us with a wave of his hand.

"We're not here for the show asshole, we're here to talk to Georgie. That's you, right?" I questioned.

"Aye, and I'll assume from the manner in which you're speaking to me that you and your friend don't know who I am," Georgie said snidely.

"Maybe, or maybe we just don't care," Bigby retorted while he was dragging on his smoke.

"Oh? And who the fuck are you two then? You twats," Georgie asked rudely, and I narrowed my eyes at the rude comment.

"Where are our manners? I'm Nathan Pierce and this is Bigby Wolf. Deputy Nathan Pierce and Sheriff Bigby Wolf," I emphasized.

"Oh, well, that changes things. In that case, the club's closed, Moose out front should'a told ya. Back to it Nerissa. Show me what in the bloody hell I'm getting for the cost of these pole-dancing lessons," Georgie said to Nerissa, who started dancing again.

"We're not playing games here, pal," Bigby said lowly.

"No, no, I suppose you and the Deputy are not. So, what do you want then? You here for a little taste? Tell you what, come back after midnight maybe. I can hook you both up. Or, knowing you Sheriff, she's probably not quite your style. You'd prefer someone who can take a bit of a beating. Tell me, do you prefer a stationary target, or one that will put up a fight? I can arrange what ever you or Deputy Pierce would like, for the right price," Georgie offered with a lecherous grin as he shut the radio off.

"We're not here for that you sick fucker, we're here on official Fabletown business! And fuck you for having the gall to suggest that we get off on hitting women!" I exclaimed in disgust.

"Oooh, "We're not here for that you sick fucker! We're here on official Fabletown business!" Jesus Deputy, you're so corny. I love it though. No, seriously, I love it," Georgie remarked and we started leaning into his face for intimidation, making Georgie put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, alright you two, just fucking with you. Look, I know why you're here," Georgie said.

"Really? Then tell us," Bigby said.

"Lily of course. Turning up dead and glamoured to look like Snow White. She worked here, it was only a matter of time before you both showed up sniffing about for answers. Wish I had any to give," Georgie said.

"Yeah? Because of your highly developed sense of civic responsibility?" I asked sarcastically.

"Because of my highly developed sense of self-preservation. I don't tell either of you nothin', you'd think I'm stonewalling you, and I don't need that kind of trouble," Georgie explained.

"And we suppose you don't have any idea who killed her? Enemies she had, or any johns she might've crossed?" Bigby questioned.

"She just worked for me, mate. I'm not her Father or her confessor," Georgie snapped in irritation.

"In that case, tell us what you do know. Like for instance, where did she get the illegal glamour she was wearing? Who were her clients?" I questioned.

"Oh, is it illegal to buy glamours from someone other than the "acceptable" witches? I thought it was merely "frowned upon". And how do either of you know it wasn't Frau Totenkinder who sold it to her?" Georgie asked smugly.

"It's illegal if we say it's illegal. And a thirteenth floor witch would never provide a glamour like that one and you know it. That's strictly black market stuff," Bigby said sternly.

"Ooooh, black market! How exciting! It's like a John Le Carre book!" Georgie exclaimed mockingly.

"Listen asshole, do you think this is funny?" I asked lowly.

"I think it's bollocks, you two coming to me looking for these sorts of answers. I wouldn't allow any black market magic or prostitution in my club! I don't allow anything illegal in my club!" Georgie defended himself.

"Really? Is that so?" Bigby questioned skeptically.

"Why would I? I've got girls shaking their tits on stage and I sell watered-down booze for twice retail. I make money legally, hand over fist!" Georgie explained.

"What about Lily? Do you even care that she's dead?" I asked.

"Honestly, I don't. She wasn't much on stage, and I'm not in the givin' a shit business. Might make me a bad choice for an altar boy, but that doesn't make me a murderer," Georgie said uncaringly.

"We're not fucking around here Georgie, we know there are things you're not telling us. Now give us something to go on, or we will shut this place down," Bigby threatened.

"Will you? Isn't that scary for me! Must be fun to be you, eh?" Georgie said, holding up his hands mockingly.

"Excuse me?" Bigby inquired, looking pissed at this smug prick.

"You get to huff and puff and everyone says "Oh no! The Big Bad Wolf is mad at me!". But here's what I say, neither of you have got any evidence that I'm doing anything illegal. So piss off! Maybe you can scare the "Proper" Fables with that act, but you can't scare me," Georgie snapped irritably.

"Oh, no evidence? Then what the fuck is this then?!" I exclaimed, pulled out the glamour box, and showed it right in his face.

"Get that out of my face," Georgie said.

"We found it on Lily's body and it's definitely a back alley job. Where did she get it?" Bigby questioned.

"You and the Deputy have got this all wrong, Sheriff. If Lily was doing a special glamour, then it wasn't for me! For fuck's sake, I don't want that kind of heat!" Georgie exclaimed defensively.

"If it's not for you, then who was she doing it for?" I asked.

"She had clients Pierce, maybe one of them was into it. Lot of fucked up people in Fabletown," Georgie said.

"Like who?" Bigby emphasized in irritation.

"Try looking in a mirror. Anyway, nothing to do with me," Georgie said dismissively, turned the radio back on, and started ignoring us.

"Hey! We're not done here!" I yelled above the music.

"I think we are!" Georgie yelled back.

"He said we're not!" Bigby exclaimed angrily and took a few steps to Georgie, prompting him to get up and stand his ground.

"What, are gonna hit me?! Go ahead! That's what you wanna do, right?! That's what you and your Deputy came here for, right?! That's what you like!" Georgie taunted us.

"We are losing our fucking patience Georgie! One more time, who...hired...her?!" I emphasized.

I put my hand on my baton when Georgie was about to throw a punch, only to slip and he stumbled, but not before knocking the radio to the ground and it stopped working when it crashed to the floor.

"Aw no! Fuck!" Georgie exclaimed in disbelief, then he turned to the woman that was on the stage and shouted in frustration, "You! Take your sad fucking face where I can't see it!"

The woman rolled her eyes, walked backstage, and Georgie grumbled, "Bloody bastards...fucking shit. You two proud of yourselves? Proud of your little mess?"

As Georgie picked up the radio, a tall muscular man with a broom came over to see what the commotion was and Georgie shoved the radio into his hand, snapping, "Fuck off Hans."

"Hold on a minute! Hans, is it?" Bigby questioned as Hans was walking away and putting the radio down onto the bar.

"Hans just cleans up and provides a little muscle when we need it. He's not gonna know anything about the girls or their clients or any of that. No one knows, don't either of you get it? It's by design, "Discretion is our guarantee." Right? And the way we guarantee that is that no one knows anything they don't have to know, including me. I cover my eyes and take my cut, end of story," Georgie explained.

"Why not look it up?" Hans chimed in.

"I'm sorry, what's that?" I inquired.

"Isn't there a little book with all the stuff about the girls written in it?" Hans questioned and Georgie glared at him angrily.

"You're a fucking moron!" Georgie yelled.

"Really? Show us," Bigby said.

"There is no book. And as for you Hans, we need to work on your communication skills, and I've got a fairly good idea on where to start," Georgie said as he walked over to the bar, grabbed a cricket bat that said 'crowd control' on it and he started to approach Hans menacingly, prompting me to walk over and snatch it out of his hand.

"Hey arsehole, that's my personal property!" Georgie protested, and his eyes widened when I put the blade on the bar and he continued, "Go ahead, do it! Word out on the street says that you are a good man. Well Deputy, prove to me that that's wrong and you are no different then The Big Bad Wolf."

I moved the blade slowly across the bar until I stopped at the radio.

"Tell us about the book, Georgie," I said pleasantly.

"Deputy, neither you nor the Sheriff have got the slightest clue about anything!" Georgie groaned in irritation as I walked over to the cigarette machine, ignoring Georgie's protests.

"Cut the shit Georgie, we want the book Hans is talking about," Bigby demanded.

"Hans is confused, again," Georgie lied.

I walked over behind the bar and stopped in front of the TV, and Georgie got in my way and warned, "Don't even think about it."

"Look Georgie, why don't you just tell us where the book is. Cause quite frankly, I'm starting to get sick of you being uncooperative," I said irritably.

"Look Pierce, can we please not go round and round about this? There's no book, end of story," Georgie said.

I brushed past Georgie, walked over to a keg, and tipped it a little with my foot, causing Georgie to say, "Do not touch that, you hear me? That has nothing to do with you."

"Look Georgie, there's still time to hand over the book, then we'll leave you alone," Bigby reasoned.

"I'm sorry Sheriff, but there is no handy magic book with everything you two want to know jotted down inside. I sincerely wish there was. Maybe it would get you both off my back, you fuckin' knob jockeys," Georgie insulted.

I was about to walk away when I noticed a floor safe that was under the keg and I moved the keg to get a better look.

"Well, what do you know. What's this, it looks like a floor safe," I said.

"I wouldn't know, it was here when we moved in. I don't have the key to it. C'mon you two, for fuck's sake, I've gotta open in a few hours!" Georgie complained.

"Damn it Georgie, will you just give us the fucking book already?" Bigby snapped in irritation.

"You're the big bad bastard! We get it! Everyone's guilty! We fucking get it!" Georgie exclaimed.

I walked over to the neon sign that was hanging on the wall and Georgie said, "Jesus, you blokes are killing me! I'm begging you, I'll pay you!"

"Seriously?! Are you trying to fucking bribe us?! Two women are dead!" I exclaimed incredulously.

"Then quit being bloody idiots!" Georgie yelled back.

Then I walked over to the DJ booth and Georgie protested, "C'mon mate, leave it. There's nothing there for you."

"You might want to stand back, cause this is going to get messy," I warned and raised the bat, making Georgie wave his arms frantically.

"Alright! Alright! You win!" Georgie exclaimed, took a key out of his pocket, and walked over to the safe, opened it up and handed Bigby a small black book.

"Well, would you look at that, it was here the whole time," Bigby remarked wryly.

"You know, it's a secret book, in a secret safe, because the people who pass through here like to know they're getting a certain level of anonymity. Discretion is our guarantee," Georgie grumbled.

"Take a look around you Georgie, we obviously know the value of discretion. One more thing, I wasn't actually going to destroy your place," I reassured.

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better, you wanker," Georgie insulted.

I ignored the rude comment and headed over to Bigby, who was looking through the book. He stopped at a page and I saw that it had Lily's name on it, along with the name Mr. Smith and the number 207.

"Here, this is Lily's last entry. So tell us Georgie, who's this Mr. Smith?" Bigby asked.

"Oh dear, I'm afraid it might be a fake name, you fucking idiot," Georgie mocked.

"And what does 207 mean? Is it a room number?" I questioned.

"I dunno, millimeters? Lily was always a bit of a size queen, so I heard," Georgie remarked.

"Okay if you're done being a smartass, then cut the shit Georgie. This is your book, your girls," Bigby said sternly.

"Yeah, but I ain't their fuckin' secretary. Look, like I said before, I give them a stage, I give them music, I provide an erotic venue to attract and retain clients. But let's be clear on something, the girls make the arrangements with their clients! Not me, the girls. They're the ones with the Mr. Smiths, the Joneses, and Mr. X types. Whatever happens outside the club, that's on them. I log the business, take my cut, and keep my head down. Now, if you two are done treating me like this, I'm calling your superiors to file a complaint," Georgie said and walked over the phone.

When I saw the woman from earlier peeking out from the door that led to the dressing room and she ducked back in, I said, "You do that Georgie. In the meantime, the Sheriff and I are going to keep doing our jobs."

Bigby and I walked over to the door and entered the dressing room. looking to our left, we saw cubby shelves that had nametags on them. Seeing the cubby that had Faith's name on it, I looked through it to see if there was any clue that could lead us to her killer.

 _"Hmmm, not much here. A jewelry box and...hello, what's this?"_ I thought when I spotted a piece of paper and I examined it to see that it was a note.

"Bigby, listen to this. 'Faith, thanks for covering for me tonight! Let's talk before you go over to the apartment, Lily'," I read from the note.

"Sounds like they both saw one of Lily's clients," Bigby commented.

I nodded and we walked around the corner to see the woman sitting in front of the mirror, putting lipstick on.

"Excuse us, it's Nerissa...right?" I asked.

"Sure, but you two can call me whatever you want," Nerissa remarked.

"You don't have to do that routine with us, we're here to help," Bigby said politely.

"Got your work cut out for you," Nerissa quipped and she looked back at us and continued, "You both look confused, trying to place me? They used to call me The Little Mermaid, once upon a time."

"Oh. The legs, are they a glamour?" I asked.

"Ha, no. They're real, cost me a lot. You like them?" Nerissa asked.

"Listen...Nerissa, is it okay if we can ask you some questions?" Bigby questioned.

"Ask away, but I don't have answers, you and your Deputy will have to find them yourselves," Nerissa said.

"Okay. Did you see Lily last night? Do you have any idea where she went, or who she was with?" I questioned gently.

"We can't talk about work. Discretion is our guarantee, Deputy," Nerissa said bitterly.

"Hey, it's okay, you can tell us. Anything you can tell-" I started to reassure, but I was cut off.

"I mean can't. These lips are sealed," Nerissa said.

My eyes narrowed at what she said and realized that the phrase was the same thing that Faith said the other night. It was like something was preventing her from talking.

"What is it Nerissa? Is something preventing you from saying anything?" I inquired.

"My lips are sealed. Sheriff Wolf, Deputy Pierce, would either of you like to make an appointment with me?" Nerissa asked us.

I was suspicious at first, but then I slowly realized that she was giving us a trail to follow and I asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"We could make all the usual arrangements. The usual place. I could just write it down in the appointment book there," Nerissa worded carefully and Bigby perked up in realization.

"Okay, sure. What would we need to do?" Bigby questioned, playing along and giving her the book.

"It's a hundred and fifty. Georgie's not happy when his girls come up short," Nerissa told us as she was writing in the book.

Taking out his wallet and showing her the money, Bigby said, "This is all I got."

"First time I've ever had to cover the difference with my own cash. You two better be worth it," Nerissa said with a smirk.

When Bigby and I looked in the book, we saw two false names and a key that said 204 on it.

"Not 207?" Bigby inquired.

"You two are smart, you'll think of something," Nerissa remarked.

Getting a better look at the key, Bigby and I saw that the name Open Arms was on it.

"The Open Arms Hotel?" I wondered and continued, "So, this is where they met."

"Enjoy your stay. I hope you two find what your looking for," Nerissa said.

Bigby and I gave a nod of appreciation and headed back out to the car.

As Bigby and I left the Pudding 'N Pie, got into my car, and I started driving us to our destination, what Nerissa said brought back memories of Salem and the guilt came back.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _Bigby and I were walking down a path to Crane's house and we overheard what Crane was saying to Abigail and her Uncle._

 _"This is a serious accusation Headmaster Crane! My poor Niece is not involved in the black arts! It is bad enough that my sweet little Betty is being accused, but now my Niece is as well?! This is an outrage! And it would be wise if we didn't discuss it any further!" Reverend Parris yelled lividly._

 _"My apologies good Reverend. I have made sure that Mr. Wolf and Mr. Pierce have been disciplined and they will not do it again," Crane said._

 _"See to it that they don't Headmaster, or you will be out of a job. It must be that blasted John Proctor that's behind this! Hasn't he done enough to my family?!" Reverend Parris exclaimed in disbelief._

 _"Not to worry about Proctor, I have heard from little Abigail here that his dear Wife is involved in the devil's work," Crane explained._

 _"Abigail, is this true?" Reverend Parris asked._

 _"Yes Uncle, it was dreadful. Mercy and I saw her specter and she was tormenting us, it was horrible," Abigail said._

 _"Don't worry child, we will get to the bottom of this. Now, come along," Reverend Parris said gently._

 _When the front door opened, Bigby and I took cover in the bushes because we didn't want to deal with Parris yelling at us. As Parris and Abigail passed us, I saw Abigail looking at where we were hiding, and I saw her wave at us._

 _(two months later)_

 _"Aye! And just like that, we have found what we are looking for!" the man exclaimed as he was walking out of the Proctor home, holding a doll. He continued, "A poppet! And, lifting it's skirts, a needle! The very thing!"_

 _"What signifies a poppet?" Bigby asked one of the men next to us in confusion._

 _Sighing, the man said, "Mr. Wolf, I know you and Mr. Pierce have not been a part of Herrick's militia long."_

 _"Tis true. It were only with the advent of these recent warrants that Master Crane suggested we offer our services," I explained._

 _"And they have been appreciated, make no mistake. But, do either of you fancy yourselves men of the law in the long term?" The man asked us._

 _"We...we know not, to be deputized seemed a great honor. But by and by, we find that our work this night sits ill with us. Still, it is our sworn duty and we mean to uphold it," Bigby explained._

 _"That being the case, allow me to proffer a mote of advice? All this eve, you have poured forth with questions, "What proof can be shown of this witching? Why must the burden be placed on the accused? What signifies a poppet?" If I may speak it plain, such queries are unbecoming in a man of the law," The man stated._

 _"Excuse me sir, should not a lawman chisel away at falsehoods 'till only the raw ore of verity lie exposed?" I questioned in confusion._

 _"Nay Mr. Pierce, chiseling is hard work. Better you should see your warrants served and your arrests made without such base inquiry on your part. Let it be a balm to your conscience, when the accused go to the gallows, to know that you wasted not a single thought toward their plight," the man lectured and I frowned at him since what he said went against everything I had learned in the police academy in modern times._

 _Suddenly, I heard a commotion coming from the house and I looked to see Herrick dragging Elizabeth Proctor outside and throwing her to the ground._

 _"Bind her! On my word, bind this witch!" Herrick demanded as John Proctor came storming out with a look of anger on his face._

 _"Damn you Herrick! You will not chain her, I'll not have it!" John roared out in fury._

 _"Restrain him! Back into the house with him!" Herrick ordered, and Bigby and I grabbed John and started dragging him back to the house, causing him to struggle._

 _"They mean to break me by accusing my Wife! By blackening her name with not a shred of hard proof! Surely there must be a man among you who will speak against these charges!" John cried out to the crowd and then he looked at us and pleaded, "You two, Mr. Wolf and Mr. Pierce, will either of you believe me when I say my good wife is innocent?"_

 _"We...cannot judge your truth, Mr. Proctor. Master Crane has taught us that a man may deceive if it serves his ends," Bigby stated and I felt guilt when the hope drained from John's eyes and he stopped struggling._

 _"Aye, none would know that so well as your Master Crane," John said sorrowfully._

 _"We...we are sorr-" I tried to apologize, but I got cut off._

 _"Enough talk, back through the doors with him!" Herrick snapped impatiently._

 _"I'm sorry Proctor, forgive us for this," I thought as Bigby and I kept dragging John into the house._

* * *

I pulled us up to the curb in front of the hotel, we got out, and I locked the doors. As Bigby and I started walking up to the front door, we stopped when a prostitute and an NYPD patrol officer exited the hotel, the woman giving the officer a hug and the two of them going their separate ways. When Bigby and I started walking again, the police officer spotted us and he tipped his hat as he passed us.

Bigby and I entered the filthy hotel lobby and the smells of sex and God knows what hit me, forcing me to let out a noise of disgust. Bigby lit up a smoke to dull the nasty and overpowering scents.

When Bigby walked over to examine a soda vending machine, he grumbled, "Ugh, this shit'll kill you."

Looking at the payphone, I saw that the cord was cut and I mumbled, "They really need to fix that."

Bigby and I saw a sign and we examined it to see that it showed the rates of the hotel.

"If the rooms are anything like the lobby, they should cut their rates," Bigby remarked and I nodded in agreement as I walked over to the front desk and rang the bell.

After waiting for a few seconds, a figure left the back room and walked up to the desk but I couldn't tell who it was due to the mesh window that was blocking my line of sight.

"You want it by the hour, or for the whole night?" a female voice asked and I narrowed my eyes at how familiar the woman sounded.

When the woman leaned down to get a look at me and Bigby, my eyes widened in shock when I saw that the woman was Beauty and her eyes also widened in shock at seeing us.

"Oh shit," Beauty said in disbelief.

"Beauty? What the fuck are you doing here?" Bigby asked while Beauty was raising the window.

"Look, I work here. I work the front desk, it's to help pay the bills. So, now you know. I know I should've told somebody, but Beast would lose his mind if either of you knew about this. Beast is a proud man, he...he wants to do right by me, and he...he just couldn't handle it if he knew I had to do this so we don't get evicted. All of our friends live in The Woodland, he would be mortified," Beauty explained, looking away out of shame.

"But...what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I took out a loan from the Crooked Man, okay? We were so behind on our rent, I didn't know what else to do," Beauty informed us.

My eyes narrowed at the name the Crooked Man. Every time I headed to the Trip Trap Bar, I would hear that name being passed around like a ghost story. Nobody knew who he was or what he actually looked like, but all I knew was that he was a loan shark that had most of the criminal underworld in New York and New Jersey scared of him, and you know he is bad news if he's got even the most powerful Dons of the five families terrified of him.

"Please don't tell Beast, he doesn't know anything about this," Beauty begged us.

"Beauty...God, I'm so sorry that you and your Husband have fallen on hard times. Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but you really should tell Beast about this. He's worried about you," I said out of concern.

"I will, I will, I just need to in my own time. By the way, thanks for not saying anything to Beast," Beauty said.

"It's no problem, but if you want my advice, it's better that you tell him sooner rather then later, because he is not going to take it well when he finds out about this on his own and especially that you have been lying to him," I said.

"Of course. So, Sheriff, Deputy, what brings you two here?" Beauty asked and Bigby showed her the room key.

"Oh, you two have a key. Oh goodness, I...it's none of my business what either of you do in your spare time. I mean, who am I to judge? I just..." Beauty trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, it's nothing like that! We're working on a case, Beauty. Someone else was murdered," Bigby quickly explained, not wanting Beauty to get the idea that we were getting "involved" with prostitutes.

"Oh, right...Lily...I heard, poor thing," Beauty said sorrowfully.

"Yeah. About Lily, she worked at the Pudding 'N Pie. Did she ever come around here?" I asked.

"Yes, I did see her. I mean we never really spoke, but...she came off a tad intimidating," Beauty replied.

"Did you ever see Lily with someone here? Maybe on a "Job"?" Bigby questioned.

"Sometimes, but nobody I recognized. I haven't been working here for that long, though," Beauty said.

"How about a room register? Or someone named Mr. Smith?" I questioned.

"That's all we get are Smith's, Jones's, and Johnson's. I think the last one is meant to be a joke," Beauty explained with a deadpanned expression.

"Okay, have you seen Snow White here recently? Or maybe someone glamoured as her?" Bigby asked.

"You know, it's funny, but I did see someone who I thought looked a lot like her, but...she didn't say anything when she saw me, even though she knew that I saw her. I just assumed it wasn't Snow and went about my business," Beauty said.

"Beauty, have you ever met a girl named Faith? Or maybe you heard that name?" I asked.

"I might have, I don't know. By the end of the night, it's kind of a blur with all the names. Tara, Brandy, Amber, Heather, sorry," Beauty said.

"We talked to Tweedle Dee earlier today, he mentioned you in passing. Do you know him, or his Brother?" Bigby questioned.

"Like I said before, I took out a loan, for backpay...it was like our third notice...and ever since then, those annoying freaks have been pestering me for the money plus interest," Beauty explained.

"So, why would you take out a loan from those two?" I asked.

"As I said, it was from the Crooked Man..." Beauty trailed off, looking guilty.

"Beauty," Bigby said sorrowfully.

"Neither of you know how desperate I was! I had nowhere else to go!" Beauty exclaimed sternly.

"Beauty...why didn't you come to us? We would've gladly helped you by talking to Snow," I said gently.

"I tried..." Beauty said.

After a few awkward seconds, Bigby asked, "Did you hand out the key to room 207 at any time recently?"

"A big part of job description is to keep my head down, and I'm fine with that. Look you two, do you think there's any way that either of you could keep me out of this? Like out of your reports and whatnot?" Beauty asked us.

"I'm not sure that's possible. Beauty...look, you keep a key that unlocks every room in this hotel, right?" I questioned.

"Yes...why?" Beauty inquired hesitantly.

"How about this. If you let us into room 207, we'll see what we can do, but I wouldn't get your hopes up," I offered.

"Well, I'm not suppose to, but...okay. Follow me," Beauty said reluctantly as she left the front desk, entered the lobby, and Bigby and I followed her to the elevator.

As we entered the elevator and Beauty pushed the button that would take us to our floor, Beauty said, "So, if anyone sees me with you, I'm going to act like I just found you two here and I'm tossing you out. Do either of you understand?"

"Looking for some street cred?" Bigby inquired, tilting his head slightly.

"No, you and Nate are actually, uh...banned from the hotel," Beauty said.

"Banned? Who did we piss off for that to happen?" I questioned.

"Officially, by nobody. You just are. But my guess is that The Crooked Man got bent out of shape over something you two did," Beauty remarked.

"We'll choose to take that as a compliment," Bigby said with a slight chuckle as the elevator came to a stop and we started walking through the hallway to room 207 that was at the end of the corridor. The three of us arrived at the door and I put my ear against it. Not hearing anything, I nodded at the others and Beauty walked over to the door.

"So, we're here. What are you two expecting to find in here?" Beauty asked.

"We don't know, hopefully something that'll lead us to the killer," I said while Beauty put the master key in the lock.

When Beauty was unable to unlock the door, she said, "Well, that's odd. This key is supposed to open every room in the building, but it's not working."

"Beauty?! What the fuck is going on here?!" the familiar voice of Beast called out.

"Oh shit," Bigby, Beauty, and I mumbled and we turned around to see Beast standing at the end of the hallway with this look of shock on his face.

"Bigby? Nathan? Beauty, how could you do this to me?" Beast asked in despair.

"No Sweetie no, wait a minute-" Beauty tried to reason.

"How could you do this?! We've been together through everything! I took care of you! I lov-" Beast started to exclaim in disbelief.

"It's not what you think! Please!" Beauty pleaded.

"You're cheating on me! With them?!" Beast yelled in outrage.

"No! No my love, I promise, I'm not! I'm helping them, that's all!" Beauty tried to explain but it didn't work.

"I'll bet! I'm sure you all help each other just great! I know what this place is! I know what goes on here!" Beast shouted in rage, and when I saw his eyes change into black and red, I knew that Bigby and I needed to de-escalate the situation before things get even worse.

"Whoa Beast, calm down, it's not what you think. You know me, you know I wouldn't do that to you," I tried to reason.

"Stop lying to me! What the fuck is wrong with you two?! She's my Wife!" Beast roared out in fury.

"Beast, listen to me, there's nothing going on!" Beauty exclaimed as she put her hand on his shoulders to calm him down, but Beast moved her out of the way and charged at me and Bigby, grabbing Bigby by the collar of his shirt with one hand and pinning me to the wall with his other hand.

"Bastards! I guess I finally see you two for who you are!" Beast growled ferociously.

"Stop! Stop it!" Beauty begged frantically.

"You two told me you haven't seen her! You fucking liars! You both have been having a threesome with her all this time!" Beast snarled and horns started to grow out of his head.

"Beast! Just calm down and listen to your Wife! She's-" I tried to say, but I was thrown to the ground and as Beast started to throw a punch at me, memories of Salem came rushing back.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _I still felt guilt as Bigby and I were heading back to Crane's home after seeing John Proctor being excommunicated in the town square._

 _"Are you okay Father?" Bigby asked me._

 _"No I am not my son. This is going too far and good men and women are being killed out of fear. I feel so useless," I said._

 _"Worry not Father, we will find someway to stop this," Bigby reassured as we were approaching the house and we heard a commotion. When we heard Abigail screaming in terror, we hurried inside and Bigby and I saw Crane manhandling Abigail roughly._

 _"Enough Crane! Unhand her this instant!" I demanded._

 _"You and your whelp begone boy, ere I whip you both for your insolence!" Crane threatened, prompting Bigby to suddenly tackle Crane and pin him against the wall._

 _"What is that? You will whip us? Have you any idea who we are?!" Bigby growled and Crane managed to break free and started storming out of the house._

 _"How dare you speak to me thus! You and your kin are but animals wearing the skin of men!" Crane yelled in rage as he was leaving the house._

 _"You are right. We are not like you, we are wolves. And wolves are honest," I barked at Crane as he was storming outside._

 _"Thank you misters, you saved me! How can I ever repay you?" Abigail asked._

 _"You don't owe us anything little one, what you should do is go home where it is safe," I told her._

 _"I will, thank you for your kindness," Abigail praised me and left the house._

* * *

I moved out of the way as Beast tried to hit me and Beauty stepped in front of him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You aren't even listening to me!" Beauty exclaimed while Beast was approaching me and Bigby menacingly.

Beast tried to swipe at Bigby with his claws, but Bigby grabbed his wrist, started struggling with Beast, and I took out my baton and tried to get Beast away from Bigby by wrapping my arm around his neck and started to pull him backwards.

"She's my Wife!" Beast roared out.

"I told you!" Beauty tried to convince Beast to stop, but he wasn't listening.

Bigby and I took Beast off guard by suddenly shoving him into a decorated glass pane that was hanging on the wall, causing it to shatter and Beauty cried out in alarm. Bigby changed into his partly wolf stage and I shifted into my partly anthro stage as we picked Beast up and started to struggle again. Then we smashed Beast into a wall and Beauty stepped in front of us to stop us.

"Please stop, this all my fault!" Beauty begged as Beast got up and ripped out a pipe that was hanging loosely from the wall.

Ignoring Beauty's protests, Beast swung the pipe and it clocked me and Bigby, sending us into the wall and Beast shoved the pipe onto our necks and started choking us. Suddenly, Bigby jammed his claws into Beast face and started gouging his eyes out, making Beast howl in agony and forcing him to let go of us as he stumbled back in pain, then Bigby and I tackled him to the floor and hit him a few times.

"Bigby, Nathan! Don't hurt him!" Beauty cried out in horror and we lowered our fists.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Beast grabbed a bottle and smashed it over Bigby's head, knocking him to the side. Beast then stabbed me deeply with the broken glass, forcing me to let go while I roared out in agony and stumbled backwards.

Having had enough of this, I ripped out the shard of glass from my torso and my body started changing. My size grew until I was seven feet tall and my clothes and duty belt enlarged so that they would fit. My work boots vanished as my legs and feet stretched into digitigrade paws, my hands morphing into pawed hands, and my skull, my face, along with my ears stretched and compressed into a canine's shape. Finally, my tail grew out to three feet and gray fur covered me, making me look like a humanoid wolf that was standing on it's hind legs. Bigby and I were snarling as Beast unsteadily got up to his feet and glaring at us.

"You two ruined everything! She's my fucking wife!" Beast roared out in fury and I charged at him on all fours and tackled him through the door that led into room 207, destroying the door and pinning Beast to the floor, my muzzle pulled back and showing razor sharp teeth as I snarled in his face. Then, I caught the overpowering scent of blood and I stood up until my eyes widened in horror when I saw the bed.

"Shit, Nate," Beast groaned as he picked himself up and when he saw the bed, his eyes also widened in horror.

"What...what the fuck is this?" Beast stated in shock as I shifted back to my human form ,my clothes and my duty belt shrinking, and my work boots formed on my feet.

What has us so shocked is that the bed was covered in blood and there was a trail that led from the bed and to the doorway. Bigby walked in and saw the sight, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"What have you two done?! Look what you did to the door! You can't just act like this whenever you-" Beauty exclaimed incredulously but I ignored her as I still couldn't take my eyes off the horrible sight.

"Beauty, stand back, you don't want to see this," Beast said urgently.

"You and Nate broke the door! That can't be your go-to move every time you're upset about something. Now honestly, I-" Beauty started to lecture as she pushed her way into the room and when she saw the bed, she gasped in horror.

"Oh my god!" Beauty exclaimed and instantly turned away from the sight.

"Nobody touch anything!" I empathized seriously.

"Believe me, there is nothing here I want to touch," Beauty said, looking like she was going to be sick.

"Whoever Lily's client, Mr Smith might be, she met him right here in this room last night. In this bed," Bigby explained.

"Last night? Oh God, I was on shift last night," Beauty said in realization.

"What are you talking about "On shift"?" Beast questioned suspiciously.

"I'm not a prostitute you idiot, I work the front desk!" Beauty snapped in irritation.

"I- so that's-" Beast tried to say something but he got cut off.

"Yeah," Beauty said sternly.

"Still, this is no place for someone like you, I mean look-" Beast said in concern.

"Can we please not talk about this?" Beauty asked.

"Okay, if you two are done? Beauty, did you notice anything suspicious? Maybe some loud noises?" I questioned.

"I...I don't know, I mean...loud noises aren't out of the ordinary. I didn't hear anyone...screaming, or anything like that. But, should I have? It just seemed like a totally normal night, how is that even possible? There's just so much blood..." Beauty said in distress and Beast hugged her out of concern.

"Okay, here's what we are going to do. Beast, take my car keys," I gave the keys to Beast and instructed," There's a camera, gloves, and an evidence kit in the trunk of my car, grab them and bring them to us, Bigby and I need to document this scene. After that, lock the front door of the hotel and keep people from coming into the hallway, we can't let anyone see this or a panic will break out. We need you to be sure that no one comes in here, this is now a crime scene, understood?"

"But-" Beast tried to protest but he stopped when Beauty started talking.

"Just do what he says, I'll explain later...okay?" Beauty said.

Beast hesitated for a few seconds until he nodded and left the room. After several seconds of waiting, Beast came back with the camera, gloves, evidence kit, my car keys, and he handed them to me and went to the end of the hallway.

Once Bigby and I were done putting on the gloves, I said, "Alright, let's see what we can find."

"Bigby, Nathan, what kind of a person could do something like this? Who has something this sick, this...monstrous hidden inside them?" Beauty questioned.

"That's exactly what we're going to find out," Bigby declared while I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures.

After I was done, I put the camera down and started examining the bed.

"Judging by the amount of blood, the victim was lying down when she was killed. The flowers arrayed around her. And seeing the blood trail, Mr. Smith dragged her off the foot of the bed and left with the poor girl," I said.

"Dad, look at this, he brought wine," Bigby notified as he showed me the bottle.

"Huh, so our killer's a gentleman," I remarked thoughtfully.

I noticed something on the floor and I picked it up to see that it was an apple.

"An apple, and it looks like someone took a bite out of it," I observed.

"Do you think it was poisoned?" Beauty asked me.

"No. It's not poisoned, or I would've caught a whiff of it. From what I can tell, this is a prop for something, but I can't tell what it is for," I said as I stood up and put the apple in a evidence bag.

Looking at Bigby, I saw him picking up a cigarette butt out of the ashtray and he started sniffing it.

"It's a Huff and Puff," Bigby told us as he put it in a evidence bag.

"Huh, I thought you were the only one who smoked that shitty brand," I commented.

"Apparently not," Bigby said.

Bigby looked to the right of the table and picked up what appeared to be a cassette tape as I walked over to the closet and opened it to see a torn up vintage dress.

"Someone's been rough with this dress, it's torn," I pointed out.

"Oh God, she must have been wearing it! He killed her, and then he...took it back off-" Beauty theorized but I shook my head.

"No. Lily wasn't wearing the dress when she was killed, otherwise there would be blood spatter on it. From what I can see, this dress was torn sometime before the murder," I said.

"Beauty, is there anything you can tell us about last night? Maybe anything that sticks out in your mind?" Bigby asked while he was heading over to the cassette player that was on the table next to the bed.

"Sorry, no. It just seemed like any other night. That's exactly what bothering me, now I'll be down at the front desk, imagining...this," Beauty said with a disturbed look on her face.

"Beauty, do you know who rented this room last night?" I asked.

"I...I don't think I rented it to anyone. This must be one of our long-term key holders. That means it's someone whose face I've seen and ignored maybe dozens of times," Beauty told us.

"So, there's no way of checking out who it is?" Bigby questioned.

"We don't keep a register or anything. This place is intentionally pretty anonymous," Beauty explained.

"Yeah, that seems to be the drill up and down the Crooked Mile," I grumbled.

Bigby shook his head and put the tape in the player and pushed the play button, then calming music with the noises of wildlife in the background started playing.

"Guys, this music, I think I heard it last night. It was playing pretty loudly for a while, and then it stopped in the middle. I didn't think twice about it at the time, I mean, you hear all kinds of things around here, and I guess I've already gotten used to blocking them out," Beauty explained.

"The killer must've played this song to cover up the sounds of the murder," Bigby theorized.

I stared at the bed, trying to find an answer as to what could drive a person to kill somebody like that and I looked away, but not before seeing a book that was on a small table and I walked over and opened the book to see the Mundy version of Snow's story.

"What is that?" Beauty asked and Bigby walked over to see what caught my attention.

"It's a book about Snow White. Or, about the Mundy version of her story, anyway," I explained and narrowed my eyes when I saw that the dress Snow was wearing in the picture look just like the torn dress that was in the closet.

"What is it?" Bigby asked me.

"The dress in the closet is the same as the one in this picture. I think Mr. Smith was dressing Lily up in it, to recreate the Snow White from this book," I pointed out.

"You're right, it's the same dress. I guess he wanted to get the details right. God, roleplaying as a person who really exists, who we know, that's just bizarre. I'm not sure who to feel worse for," Beauty said and when Bigby and I looked at her, she held up a hand and said, "Okay, no, I take that back."

Looking back at the book, I turned the page to see Snow holding the poisoned apple.

"The whole book is about her?" Beauty asked.

"Yeah, which is creepy enough that our Mr. Smith has it...huh," I mumbled at the last part when I noticed something about the book.

"Oh God, what now? Something about the apple, what?" Beauty asked hesitantly.

"From the evidence we have gathered, the apple is part of his fantasy about Snow White. That would explain the one I found on the floor," I explained, feeling uneasy that this Mr. Smith appears to be obsessed of Snow.

"Wait, out of all the stories to pick, why the apple? It's like this guy really has a thing about Snow. It's like, pathological!" Beauty exclaimed in disgust.

"Yeah, you are not the only one getting that feeling," Bigby agreed, looking tense.

"My God, Lily, that poor girl...she couldn't have known. She probably needed the money, she could've been...anyone. How did she wind up...here? I mean, not exactly here, but...just...how does a person...?" Beauty questioned guiltily.

"There's no way of truly knowing how someone winds up in a situation like this, Beauty. Family issues, money problems, things that are sometimes unavoidable, which is tragic enough," I said.

"Like he said, we can't know the answer to that. Every situation is different," Bigby chimed in.

"Yeah..." Beauty trailed off, looking like she wanted to cry.

"Beauty, do you want to step out?" I asked her in concern.

"No, I'll be fine," Beauty refused.

Bigby and I nodded and I turned the page to see Snow in the infamous glass coffin.

"Here is the part with the glass coffin," I pointed out.

"Right. The part where she's been tricked into a deep sleep, but everyone thinks she's dead. Oh god, this is too freaky! Why did he mark this page?" Beauty asked.

"We think he made up the bed to match the coffin in the picture, flowers too. He had Lily lie down just like this," Bigby explained.

"You mean...just before..." Beauty trailed off.

"In the story, that's when someone comes to kiss her. That's our "Mr. Smith"," I finished gravely.

"How far does this thing go? Making a coffin for her on the bed is too much. God, I can see the whole picture now! It all goes together like you said! This creep put that girl in a Snow White dress and recreated the whole story from the book, with the apple, the deep sleep, and everything! You two are better detectives then I thought you'd be," Beauty exclaimed in anger.

"Thanks?" Bigby said uncertainly.

"So, he planned it all out, he had all the details noted down. Only then, when the time came for him to kiss her and wake her up..." Beauty trailed off, looking disturbed.

"Yeah," Bigby and I agreed.

"I hope you two are done, 'cause I really don't want to stay in here any longer," Beauty said uneasily.

I was about to close the book when I noticed something sticking out from one of the pages and I pulled it out to see that it was a brown envelope.

"Bigby, look at this," I announced while I opened the envelope and saw that it was carrying a bunch of pictures that had Snow in them.

"Are those pictures of the dead girl?" Beauty asked.

"Not all of them," I said as I examined one of the pictures that showed Snow at a remembrance day party and I moved the next picture and saw me with my usual tan Deputy shirt that had a badge, name tag, and shoulder patches, blue jeans, work boots, and duty belt, but I was wearing a brown leather jacket that had a badge, name tag, and shoulder patches on it. Bigby was smoking, wearing his trench coat that I gave to him as a gift a few years ago, and a scarf that Boy Blue gave to him. Snow was wearing a coat, the three of us leaving a store and into the freezing weather. What really had me on edge, is that this photo was taken last year and at that time in the photo, I had gotten the feeling that someone was watching us. When I didn't see anyone, I thought I was being paranoid, but now I can see that I wasn't.

"What do you mean?" Beauty asked.

"Dad and I are in this one. It was taken last winter, Boy Blue gave me that scarf," Bigby pointed out.

"At the time, when the three of us left the store, I had a feeling that we were being watched. I looked around and when I didn't see anyone staring at us, I thought I was just being paranoid," I explained.

"Oh God you two...this type of stalking doesn't just go away," Beauty pointed out nervously.

"Snow's stalker...he'll keep trying to get closer and closer," Bigby said grimly.

"And now that his stand-in for Snow is gone, the next step closer..." Beauty started to say.

"Is Snow herself...oh fuck me, we need to find Snow now. If there is one thing I learned on this job, is that these kinds of people do not take rejection very well," I said in horror.

"Oh God..." Bigby said in shock and disgust as he looked at the next picture.

"What? What is it?" I question and when I looked at the picture, words could not describe what I felt.

"Oh my fucking God! That sick fucking pervert!" I exclaimed and immediately looked away, covering my mouth and trying not to throw up.

"What is it?" Beauty asked uneasily.

"I can't believe we didn't see it before. My Deputy and I know who our Mr. Smith is. He's no different then the man we first met 300 years ago," Bigby explained and showed Beauty the picture, who gasped in disbelief.

What the three of us saw and would never get out of our heads, was Crane starting to undress Lily that was glamoured as Snow.


	18. Chapter 18

The Open Arms Hotel, Bronx, New York City, America, June 12, 1986.

I kept staring at the picture of Crane undressing the glamoured Lily, feeling like I was going to be sick. Ever since Bigby and I first met him in Salem 300 years ago, I knew there was something twisted about Crane, but I never expected this.

"I can't believe it, the Deputy Mayor!" Beauty exclaimed in disgust.

"That fucking creep! Spineless little fucking rat!" Bigby yelled in fury as I took my gloves off and grabbed my camera and my evidence kit.

"Bigby, Nathan, you need to find him, right away!" Beauty said urgently as Bigby and I started storming down the hallway.

"Oh, we'll find him alright!" I vowed as we headed down the stairs and into the lobby.

"What's going on?" Beast asked as we passed him and Bigby headed to the payphone.

"Crane's the killer. We have to tell Snow and then we have to find him," I explained and looking at Bigby, I said, "Bigby, that phone isn't going to work, the cord is cut."

"Wait...what? Ichabod Crane?" Beast questioned while Beauty entered the lobby.

"Shit! We need to find Snow, now!" Bigby exclaimed in frustration and slammed the phone back on it's receiver.

"Snow? Shouldn't you and Nate be looking for Crane if he's the guy you two are after?" Beast inquired.

"Crane has a magic mirror in his office. If he's been watching us and I'm sure he has, then he may be on his way to...do something before we can get to him. Fuck!" I yelled in anger.

"Do either of you know where Snow might be?" Beauty asked us.

"She was going down to the Business Office with Holly to pick up her sister's body for the funeral. But, she's not there and we don't know where the funeral is!" Bigby explained.

"Wait, is this the funeral for Lily?" Beast inquired.

"Yes, why?" I asked.

"I, uh...I was at the Trip Trap, and I heard them talking about how there was going to be a funeral down at the Buckingham Bridge," Beast told us, looking sheepish.

"The Trip Trap? Are you drinking now?" Beauty asked in disbelief.

"Just a couple every now and again. You know, me and Jack and a few of the guys-" Beast started to explain and got cut off.

"Jack? Oh honey!" Beauty said in shock.

I whistled to get their attention and asked, "Hey! The funeral? What time is the funeral?"

"Now...I think," Beast clarified and Bigby and I immediately left the hotel and started to walk quickly to the car.

"Bigby, Nathan, hold on!" Beauty called as she left the hotel, forcing us to stop.

"What is it Beauty?" I asked.

"Just hear me out on this. Look, I've known Snow for a long time and she's been through a lot back in the Homelands and here," Beauty said.

"Yeah?" Bigby inquired.

"You know how you two felt when you saw that picture of Crane just now?" Beauty asked.

"Yeah, horrified and repulsed," Bigby answered, looking disgusted.

"When you two tell her about this...about Crane...that's how she's going to feel, only it will be much worse for her. So, be gentle," Beauty said.

"We will. Listen Beauty, something tells me that all of this is going to turn into a shitstorm soon, so stay safe," I told her seriously.

"I will," Beauty agreed. Bigby and I walked to the car and I put our gloves, the camera, and the evidence kit in the trunk. Then we got into the car and I drove us to the Buckingham Bridge.

"God fucking dammit!" I roared out, hitting the steering wheel with my fist and startling Bigby.

"Whoa! Jesus Dad, what's wrong?" Bigby asked me.

"Sorry Son, I didn't mean to startle you, it's just that...fucking Ichabod, how the hell did I not see it? I knew that there was something twisted about him, but I never knew that sick fucking pervert saw Snow in that manner," I growled in frustration.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know. Hell, nobody could've known about this," Bigby reassured me.

"You're right. God, I'm never going to get that image out of my head, what the fuck is wrong with that man?" I questioned.

"Honestly, I don't think we'll ever find the answer to that question. Some people are just born twisted," Bigby said.

I nodded as we pulled up to our destination and we got out of the car. We walked for a few seconds until we saw Snow in a black suit, standing in front of a flaming pyre and delivering a speech to other Fables that were sitting down on benches.

"It's good that you're all here, all of those Lily felt closest to. This is a time for sharing, sharing love as well as pain. Sharing memories...and with any luck, sharing healing too," Snow said and when she saw us, she shook her head slightly to tell us not to interrupt and we nodded. Bigby and I walked over to a table and saw a bunch of offerings.

 _"I'm sorry Lily, you and Faith didn't deserve to die like that,"_ I thought sorrowfully as I looked through a card that said how Holly would miss her.

Wanting to move on, I saw Lawrence nearby and I walked over to see him.

"Hey Lawrence," I announced and Lawrence looked at me.

"Oh...uh, Deputy. I'm sorry. I, uh, I didn't see you there," Lawrence said awkwardly.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," Lawrence said quietly.

"So, why are you here? Did you know Lily?" I questioned.

"Oh, um, no, not really. I just came because it...I don't know, it just felt like something I should do, I guess. I was angry at first...when I heard that Lily was getting a funeral, that Holly was getting..."closure". I wanted that too, and I wanted that for Faith. But, then I remembered that Faith lived a story Lily never did. She had her adventure, she got to live in the light of "forever after" with me...for a while. So, let Lily have the better finish, it all evens out, in the end," Lawrence explained.

"Lawrence, for what it's worth, I'm sorry," I said.

"I know, Deputy, and thanks for saving my life. Take care of things, okay?" Lawrence said.

"I will," I vowed and I turned away to see Snow walking up to us with a look of confusion.

"Bigby, Nathan, is everything okay?" Snow inquired and when Holly saw us, a look of anger crossed her face and she stood up.

"No, not them," Holly growled as she stormed over to us.

"Holly, it's-" Snow tried to say something, but she was cut off.

"They weren't even fucking invited," Holly snapped.

"Holly, wait," Snow said.

"They have no right to be here! Not after what they did!" Holly exclaimed in fury.

"Holly, whatever we did, we're sorry, but we had to come," I informed.

"You two throw my sister down the Witching Well and have the nerve to not only show your faces here, but also lie to me about what you did. After you two lie...after you promise me?" Holly snarled to us.

"Holly, wait. That was Crane, just Crane. He'd...disposed of Lily's body before Bigby and Nathan could do anything about it. I'm telling you the truth," Snow reasoned.

"Don't cover for them," Holly said bitterly.

"But it genuinely wasn't their fault," Snow said.

"You can't tell me they give a shit about this," Holly snapped as a woman with short blond hair and a ribbon around her neck walked over.

"Holly, it's gonna be okay," The woman comforted.

"Your sister's been thrown down the Witching Well? Oh God...Holly, Bigby and I are truly sorry. We honestly didn't know that Crane did that, and you know I wouldn't be that disrespectful," I placated.

"They care Holly, they're trying to help. And I'm sure they have a very good reason for being here, but this one isn't on them," Snow said.

"Why are you two here? And don't say it's 'cause you care about this." Gren said bitterly.

"Everything okay?" Snow asked us.

"Honestly, we're here to talk to Snow," Bigby said.

"Oh, really..." Holly chimed in.

"Yes Holly, and for what it is worth, we are sorry about Lily," I said compassionately.

"Okay, okay, look, the three of us are going to have a chat far away from the ceremony, alright? Look...Holly, I know how this must-" Snow said but she got cut off.

"No, you don't "know" how this "must feel." You have no idea. And you two, don't fuck anything up, and don't bother anybody. And when the first sign of trouble comes, and it will come, because you two are a Goddamn walking trap for it, I want you both the fuck out of here, you hear me?" Holly asked sternly.

"Of course, you won't even know we're here," Bigby said respectfully.

"Let's just continue, okay?" the woman with the blond hair said gently as she put her hand on Holly's shoulder.

"This is such total fucking bullshit," Holly grumbled bitterly.

"Let's go Holly," Nerissa said.

"It's your turn to talk," the woman informed Holly as the three of them headed back to the pyre.

Bigby, Snow, and I walked a fair distance away and Snow asked, "So, why are you both here? Did something happen?"

"Snow, I'm gonna get straight to the point. Crane is completely obsessed with you," I informed her.

"Obsessed? What are you talking about, Nate? If this is about how he treats me at work-" Snow started to lecture but she stopped when Bigby and I shook our heads.

"No Snow. It's not about that, though we wish it was. We followed a lead to this shithole hotel, the Open Arms. Crane had a room there and he's been taking prostitutes...or, at the very least, Lily...and making her look like you while he was...you know. He replays your story, over and over again," Bigby explained, looking very uncomfortable.

"This...is...I don't even know what to say right now...I really don't. I'm just trying everything I can right now...to not picture it...to not picture him..." Snow trailed off, looking like she was going to be sick.

"Snow, we're so sorry you had to find out like this," I said and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Are you two sure about this?" Snow inquired and our nods told her everything.

"All the hours we worked together, and all that time I spent alone with him in the Business Office, the whole time he was doing...that? I've never felt so dirty in my entire life. How...Bigby, Nathan! Look out!" Snow exclaimed and I felt the barrel of a gun pressing against my back. Looking at Bigby, I saw the barrel of a shotgun pointed at him.

"Evenin' constables, let's just keep those hands where we can see them, shall we?" the voice of Dee mocked.

 _"Are you fucking serious?! Are we cursed or something?!"_ I thought incredulously at the situation while Bigby and I raised our hands.

"Now constables, let's not do anything stupid," the unfamiliar voice of who I assume is Dum started to say.

"After all, a funeral is no place to court death now, is it?" Dee finished.

Dum walked up to Snow and I could see what he looked like for the first time. Dum was wearing similar clothing to what his Brother was wearing, but he had an old-style motorist's cap on his head.

"I wonder if you'd excuse us for two shakes of a lamb's arse, Miss White? My Brother an' I just need to talk business with the lawmen 'ere," Dum said.

"Bigby, Nathan-" Snow said.

"We'll 'ave 'em back to you more or less unharmed, once we've set 'em straight," Dee reassured.

"We'll be okay Snow, just do what they say," I said and Snow started to walk hesitantly back to the pyre.

"Not much of a funeral. 'Alfs a dozen barflies and trollops under a piss-stained bridge," Dee observed in disgust.

"Then again Brother, the deceased is a troll," Dum remarked.

"Hey, you pricks, how about showing some respect?" Bigby growled.

"Funny enough, we were just about to suggest the same thing to you and your Deputy. Word is that you two are fittin' to go after Crane, but the thing of it is that me an' Dum 'ave our own sights set on that particular gentleman," Dee started.

"So we think it best for all involved if you'd both agree to just leave the ol' boy alone. An' out of respect, Dee an' myself will leave you blokes alone," Dum finished.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You two are pulling this shit at a funeral? We'll deal with this later," I snarled.

"No dice, later's too late. We need to get this sorted right here, right now. So, what's gonna be fellas?" Dum asked us.

"For Christ sake's you two, just put the shotguns away. We don't want anyone to get hurt," Bigby said frantically.

"What the hell is going on?" Gren questioned when he saw the commotion and everyone turned to look at the scene.

"All right, I've just about had my limit of this horseshit," Holly growled and she started walking over to us.

"Easy Holly, don't do anything regrettable," Snow placated.

"Ladies, gentlemen, 'orrible monsters, no need to gather your pitchforks! We only came 'round to strike a bit of a deal with these blokes," Dee started.

"Regrettably, things aren't going as smoothly as anticipated. Still, no reason for you to get your chainmail panties in a twist, love," Dum finished.

"What the hell is pugsley talking about? What deal?" Holly demanded.

"They want us to back off of Crane!" Bigby explained.

"Aww now, you really shouldn't 've done that, ol' boy," Dee said lowly.

"That ain't right, tellin' everyone about the deals we're makin'," Dum said menacingly, and my eyes widened when Holly and Gren changed back into their true forms and Holly glared at me and Bigby.

 **"What did I tell you two?! What did I say?!"** Holly shouted in rage.

"Whoa, Holly, calm down!" I tried to placate.

 **"You think you motherfuckers can come here uninvited?! You think you can just fucking interrupt Lily's funeral?!"** Gren yelled in fury, making Dee and Dum aim their shotguns at Holly and Gren.

"Holly, it's not worth it. They'll leave on their own," Bigby tried to calm Holly down as I put my hand on the butt of my gun.

 **"All we wanted was a few moments of silence! A few seconds of grace! But there's nothing so sacred that you animals can't come though and shit all over it, is there?!"** Holly roared out in grief.

"Really love, why all the fuss? It just a dead whore," Dee insulted and all hell broke loose.

 **"You little Fuck, I'm gonna kill you for that!"** Gren roared out while Holly was roaring in rage.

"Dammit! Gren, I'm begging you, don't make it worse!" Snow cried out and when Holly started charging at the Tweedles in a blind rage, Snow pleaded, "Holly, no! I know they're trying to provoke you, but please don't-"

Snow was cut off when Dee blasted Holly in the chest and Bigby and I grabbed Dee while Gren grabbed Dum.

"Oh God, Holly!" Snow cried out in horror.

"Little 'elp Brother, I'm in a dill of a pickle 'ere!" Dum grunted.

"Got my 'ands a bit full myself Brother, if I'm 'onest," Dee replied and he let out a noise of pain when I hit his face hard with the handle of his own shotgun.

Suddenly, in the midst of their struggle, Dum shot Gren with his shotgun. To my horror, Bigby let go of Dee and charged at Dum, who got his shotgun up quickly enough to blast Bigby in the shoulder.

I yelled, "Bigby!" as I clocked Dee hard again with his shotgun to knock him out. Throwing the gun aside and taking cover behind a nearby bench, I pulled out my P226, and started shooting at Dum. I kept my head low when buckshot started pelting my cover and when the shooting stopped, I aimed at Dee and Dum and fired back multiple times, forcing them into cover and they blindfired at me in retaliation. When Dee leaned out to get a better shot, I inwardly cheered when one of my shots struck him in the shoulder and he cried out in agony, the force knocking him to the ground. Dum grabbed him and started dragging him away until Dee picked himself up and they ran out of sight.

 _"Oh no you don't, you fuckers!"_ I thought in rage as I got up and started chasing them.

When I ran out to the street, I heard tires screeching and looking to my right, I saw the Tweedles' car fast approaching me with the intention to run me over. I immediately aimed and open fired at the car a few times until I was forced to dive to the side to prevent myself from getting hit. I got back up and resumed fire, sparks coming off the car and the back window shattering until the slide of my gun locked back. My rage increased as I saw them turn around the next corner and disappear from my line of sight.

"God fucking dammit!" I roared out, beyond pissed that those bastards escaped, but I started feeling satisfied as I recalled hitting one of them and hoped that Dee would bleed out.

 _"Those fuckers better start praying that I don't get my hands on them,"_ I thought as I took out the empty mag and loaded the gun with a fresh one.

Holstering my gun, I immediately ran back to where the funeral was and I saw Snow holding Holly's head and crying.

"Snow! Are they?!" I questioned frantically.

"No...they're not dead," Snow sobbed.

I heard a groan and I saw Bigby struggling to sit up.

"Bigby! Don't move, you've just been shot!" I exclaimed and grabbed him.

"Where did those Fuckers go?" Bigby groaned.

"They got away, but that's not important right now. You, Holly, and Gren need help," I said as I kept Bigby from moving.

I still held my son in my arms as Lawrence came running over and he told us that he had called Dr. Swineheart, so the only thing we could do was wait.

* * *

The Business Office, Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 12, 1986.

After Dr. Swineheart arrived, he had taken Gren and Holly to the hospital and he met up with us several minutes later back at the Business Office and was removing the buckshot that was lodged in Bigby's skin.

I was watching Bufkin sifting through the broken shards of the Magic Mirror, feeling pissed that Crane destroyed the mirror so that we couldn't use it to find him. Say what you will about Crane, even though he is a disgusting pervert, he wasn't stupid.

"I did as well as I could to remove the buckshot, but there's still some shards left embedded in your shoulder. They'll eventually worm their way out on their own but until they do, you're going to be sore for a while," Swineheart explained and I looked to see Bigby had a large bandage on his shoulder.

"How are Holly and Gren?" I asked in concern.

"They were in pretty bad shape, but I fixed them both up and sent them home. Though Holly didn't want to go home, so she's back at her bar," Swineheart told me.

"Poor thing. Bigby, are you even listening to what Dr. Swineheart is saying?" Snow asked irritably.

"Sorry, I'm just...distracted. I want Bufkin to finish fixing the damn mirror," Bigby mumbled.

"It's fine Miss White. The only thing the Sheriff really needs to hear is that he and Deputy Pierce should avoid starting trouble for a few days," Swineheart informed.

"Whoa, it's not like we asked for this to happen to us, we're just the ones whose job it is to deal with it," Bigby protested.

"If you say so, and you need to take better care of your heart, less red meat, more chicken, your blood pressure's through the proverbial roof," Swineheart lectured as he started walking to the door.

"Oh God, that better not be some kind of "wolf in the henhouse" joke," I groaned slightly and Swineheart looked back as he put his hand on the door handle and smiled.

"Oh, I see, that is amusing. But I never joke about health, you know that, Deputy," Swineheart said and went through the door, leaving us alone.

After several awkward seconds, Snow said," So...to recap."

"Crane watched us through the Magic Mirror uncover his room at The Open Arms. Then, he smashed it so we couldn't use it ourselves to go after him, and we know this because Bufkin was drinking in the rafters. That about cover it?" Bigby asked as he was buttoning up his shirt and adjusting his tie.

"Once Bufkin puts all the pieces back together, it'll be easy to catch Crane. So, I guess that's the plan, currently. But...I don't know," Snow said hesitantly.

"Well, I guess we don't have much of a choice right now. Crane could be anywhere by now," I said bitterly, feeling my bad mood getting worse, and I pinched the bridge of my noise out of irritation.

"What the hell is going on? Just...I don't know what the Tweedles get out of this. I-I don't know if Crane sent them, I don't know if...I mean, this is going to sound crazy, but...do either of you really think that Crane did it? Everything points to him, I get it, but...do you two really think he killed those women? Because it's just...it's just incomprehensible to me," Snow said.

"We don't know. Now that we had time to calm down and think, we're just as confused as you are. It just doesn't make sense, sure he's a sick pervert, but he doesn't seem to fit the profile of our killer," Bigby stated and I nodded in agreement.

"He's...he was a conniver, a...a coward and a liar, and I'll always hate him for that. And I'll hate him for how he...held me in his thoughts, but murdering prostitutes..." Snow trailed off.

"Ow!" I heard Bufkin exclaim in pain.

"Bufkin, are you okay?" Snow asked him in concern when we saw him holding his hand.

"I'm okay Miss White, I just cut myself on a piece of the glass. It's nothing to worry about," Bufkin waved it off and went back to sorting the glass.

"Bigby, Nathan, thanks for tonight. That could've gone terribly...I mean, even worse then it did. I'm glad you both were there," Snow said gratefully.

"We just feel awful for Holly, really. First her Sister gets murdered, Lily's funeral gets interrupted by the fucking Tweedles, and she gets shot? That poor woman can not catch a break," I said guiltily.

"Yeah...Time heals everything, eventually. At least, I hope so...for her sake," Snow said.

"Well...if there is anyone who knows what it's like to lose someone you love, it's me," I mumbled sorrowfully and Snow nodded in agreement, knowing that I was talking about Winter.

"Bigby...can I ask you something? It's kind of personal, and I don't want to offend you," Snow asked tentatively.

"Ask away," Bigby said.

"It's just that...when things go south, like they did tonight, sometimes it reminds me of back home," Snow said.

"Yeah, I guess we know what you mean," Bigby agreed.

"And I've heard people say that you...kind of enjoy it when that happens," Snow explained.

"Why would I enjoy it?" Bigby questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Because it means that just for a little while, you can...stop pretending. I think maybe I saw that in your eyes. And what about you Nate? When I saw you shooting at the Tweedles, you looked like a solder that was on a mission. I know that you served in Vietnam and that you were in command of a Mundy military squad, do you miss that?" Snow asked me.

"You know, in some dark twisted way, I do miss it, the adrenalin pumping while I'm dodging bullets and explosions, the thrill of feeling so alive, but handing in my discharge papers was a decision I will never regret. You've never been in Nam so you don't know what it is like Snow, the things we've seen and did, the horrors we experienced. And when we came home from the war, how were we thanked for it? By people protesting our efforts, spitting at us, calling us baby killer, murderer, and other kinds of vile shit. Who the fuck are they to call us those horrible things unless they've been there, they've seen what I've seen to know what the hell they're talking about. You just can't turn it off," I spat bitterly after hesitating for several seconds, horrifying memories of Hope County and Vietnam running through my mind.

"God Nate, I'm sorry, just forget I said anything," Snow said, looking away out of guilt.

"Uh, guys?! We have a problem!" Bufkin shouted to us.

"What is it?" Snow asked as the three of us walked over to see what the problem is.

"I can't finish the mirror, it's missing a piece," Bufkin said.

"What do you mean missing a piece?" Snow inquired.

"Yes it's, uh...not here," Bufkin said sheepishly.

"Bufkin, are you sure it's not here? Maybe it just slid under one of these cabinets?" Bigby asked.

"No, I'm sure it's not here, I checked every corner. Come to think of it, Mr. Crane did grab something before he left the office. That must be what it was!" Bufkin explained in realization.

"Can you fix it?" I asked and Bufkin shook his head.

"No, sorry," Bufkin replied.

"The mirror will heal itself eventually, but that will take several days. Poor thing must be in a lot of pain," Snow said sympathetically.

"And Crane will take a plane out of the country by then. Goddammit. Okay, let's think about this. Bufkin, do you remember anything that Crane said where he was going when he left?" I inquired.

"Well, I assume he was going to see his witch," Bufkin said.

"Witch? What witch?" Bigby asked.

"Did I forget to mention that too? Yes, he made a call just before he left. I know what you are thinking, but in my defense, I am fairly certain I ate the worm at the bottom of the tequila," Bufkin defended himself.

"If we can figure out who this witch is before 2:00 am..." Snow started to say.

"Then we can be there when Crane shows up," I finished.

"But who is she?" Snow asked.

"Wait, what if she's the same witch that Crane got Lily's glamours from? That would make sense, right Dad? And that means Lily knew her. Maybe if we looked through Lily's things, we might-" Bigby said in excitement until I shook my head.

"No Son, we can't do that, not now. Holly's been through too much tonight. She's pissed enough at us, we don't want to give her a reason to hate us," I refused.

"Okay Dad, then how the hell do we figure out who this witch is?" Bigby asked.

"I don't know, maybe-" I started to say, only I was interrupted when the door slammed open and the one person we really didn't want to see came storming in.

"What the hell is going on in here?! Is the mirror fixed? Have you found Crane yet?" Bluebeard demanded, making me groan slightly in frustration.

 _"Fuck, not Bluebeard. Does some almighty being hate us or something,"_ I thought in disbelief as Bluebeard was approaching.

"Crane took a piece of the mirror, so we can't fix it. We're doing everything we can, so if I could just have you-" Snow tried to placate with her hands up, but she got rudely cut off.

"You? You can't have me do anything, you're just a secretary! Why in the hell should I take orders from you?" Bluebeard questioned condescendingly and Snow started glaring at him.

"This is me and my Deputy's investigation. I'm the Sheriff, and the Fabletown statutes say that I can deputize anybody I want, thereby giving them full authority to conduct investigations with me. Which includes ordering you around," Bigby stated as he wrote down Deputy Sheriff on a sticky note and placed it on Snow's jacket, the three of us grinning smugly at Bluebeard.

"Alright then, what do you and your highly experienced team of law enforcement professionals intend to do next?" Bluebeard asked.

"Funny you should ask, we've been thinking about that. See, there's a pair of Cockney sub-humans that have been neck-deep in all of this since the very beginning. Or would be, if they had necks," I explained.

"The Tweedles. That's what I've been saying since the very beginning," Bluebeard said irritably.

"It's time we settled things with those two. They'd better have some answers, God knows they've got a lot to answer for," Bigby stated darkly and I nodded in agreement.

"Good, it's about time you and Deputy Pierce started doing something smart," Bluebeard said smugly with an arrogant grin.

 _"Fucking hell, we're agreeing with Bluebeard? Hell has officially frozen over,"_ I thought dryly.

"You know that my Deputy and I hate that we're involving that prick Bluebeard in this investigation," Bigby grumbled in displeasure.

"Bigby! Could you at least try to keep your voice down?" Snow said.

"Yes Sheriff, you wouldn't want "that prick" to overhear you mewl now, would you? You wouldn't want to risk his wrath, given that his generous donations are what keep Fabletown running and pay your's and Deputy Pierce's salaries," Bluebeard threatened.

"I'm going to be straight with you Bluebeard. If you fuck this up for us, all the money in the world isn't going to protect you," I warned him.

"If you threaten me again Deputy, you and Sheriff Wolf will work this case pro bono," Bluebeard said lowly as we glared at each other.

Wanting to change the subject, Bigby said, "If we're going by that phone call that Bufkin overheard, then we got two hours to figure out who this witch is and intercept Crane there, hopefully before he does anymore damage to the community he's sworn to protect."

"Which means that every moment we spent here, is a moment wasted! I'm off to the blackguard's quarters. If I find anything of interest, you three will be the first to know," Bluebeard stated as he turned around and started walking to the door.

"Without a key?" Snow asked skeptically.

"I've yet to meet a lock that could stop me, Miss White. A lengthly series of chastity belts will attest to that," Bluebeard declared proudly.

 _"Ugh, didn't need to know that,"_ I thought in disgust, glaring at the departing man in distaste.

"I don't trust him any farther then I can throw him," Snow said bitterly.

"See, that's where we part ways, Snow. My Son and I could throw that son of a bitch much farther then we can trust him. With any luck, we'll get to do exactly that before the night is over," I grumbled.

"He was just so eager to rush to Crane's place. I can't help but think that he's got his own agenda," Snow commented suspiciously.

"Well, you're probably not wrong about that. Originally, Dad and I were going to check both places, but since Bluebeard has gotten involved, we want to stay as far away from him as we can. So unfortunately, we can't be in two places at once now. And right now, we need to see what we can turn up at the Tweedles' office," Bigby stated and the two of us left the room and headed to my car.

* * *

Bronx, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

Bigby and I walked into the building and when we approached the Tweedles' office, my eyes widened in surprise when I saw Ambrose The Frog Prince aka Flycatcher sweeping the floor.

When Flycatcher saw us, he said, "Oh, uh, hey there Sheriff, Deputy, nice to see you two. What brings you both to this neck of the woods?"

"We're just out doing our job, Flycatcher. More importantly, what are doing here, sweeping the Tweedles' hallway at this hour?" I asked.

"I'm just doing my job too, Deputy. Crane, uh, let me go from the Woodland recently, and the Tweedles were nice enough to hire me right away," Flycatcher explained and he asked, "Are you two here to see them? Because they're not in at the moment. I think they're out working on a case."

"Any idea when they'll be back?" Bigby asked while he was puffing on his smoke.

"I couldn't say, they don't tend to keep real regular hours. Sometimes, they don't drop by here for days on end," Flycatcher explained.

"Tell you what Fly, why don't you take the rest of the night off and get some sleep," I suggested but Flycatcher shook his head.

"I appreciate the thought Deputy, but I can't. I still have to clean their office. I could...let you and Sheriff Wolf in if you want, and you can wait for them in there," Flycatcher offered.

"That wold be perfect Fly, thanks," Bigby said in appreciation and Flycatcher unlocked the door and we all walked inside.

"You go ahead and do your job Fly, we're just gonna have a look around," I said as Bigby and I started to examine the office.

"Oh, yeah, I...I guess that'd be okay," Flycatcher said as Bigby and I started to look through the desks.

I didn't see anything that interested me at first, until I saw a newspaper that described the 20th Precinct and all the cops that were found unconscious and lying next to the newspaper were two files. I looked through the files and saw pictures of Detectives Jacob Phillips and Kelsey Brannigan, their faces circled in red marker. Under the picture, written in the same red marker it said 'keep an eye on them'.

 _"What the hell? Why the fuck are the Tweedles interested in two Mundy cops?"_ I thought in confusion.

"Dad, I found something," Bigby announced, and I walked over to see that he was holding a key in his hand.

"Huh, where do you think it goes to?" I asked.

"Hopefully, something important," Bigby stated and we went to the filing cabinets and opened a drawer to examine the files.

"Wow, I would've laid even money that these jackasses didn't know what order the alphabet came in. Let's see if they got a file on Crane," Bigby said as he searched through the drawer. He pulled a file out and we looked through it.

"Shit. Just like Beauty, Crane's up to his beady little eyeballs in debt with the Crooked Man. How was he ever planning to pay all this back? Further details under 'Donkeyskin', so they got a file on Faith too. Crane hired the Tweedles to find a "compromising photo" that she stole, huh?" Bigby notified to me.

"Well, that explains why they were at her apartment and at the Woodsman's place. But as we know, their methods of finding a needle in a haystack is to burn the haystack to the ground and sift through the ashes," I said darkly.

"Sheriff, Deputy, I, uh, know you two don't think much of the twins, but I promise they aren't bad guys once you get to know them. They genuinely care about helping people," Flycatcher piped up.

"Yeah? How do you figure that, Fly?" Bigby asked while he was dragging on his smoke.

"Anyone can come in here with any problem and the Tweedles will fix it. Lost your cat? They'll find you one! Or sometimes, they'll act as couriers, you know? Pick up packages for people. Only good guys would do stuff like that," Flycatcher explained.

"The Tweedles are a lot of things Fly, but "good guys" isn't on that list," Bigby grumbled.

"What if you two are wrong about them? They're misunderstood, sure, but that doesn't mean that all the worse things people say about them are true. I mean, when you think about it, you guys and the Tweedles aren't that different. You help people, and they help people," Flycatcher defended and I raised my hand to stop him from talking.

"Please let me stop you there, Flycatcher. We respect your loyalty, we really do, but don't ever compare us to those punks," I said bitterly.

"Dammit! There's got to be something here, we know it!" Bigby exclaimed in fustration as he slammed his fist on the desk.

"Why would the Brothers have anything to h-" Flycatcher tried to ask tentatively, only he got cut off.

"Because they're lying to you, Flycatcher. Because they aren't Detectives, they're nothing more then garden-variety thugs. Because two Fables are dead and the Tweedles are involved!" I exclaimed in anger.

"Sheriff...what happened to your shoulder?" Flycatcher inquired when he saw blood appearing on Bigby's shoulder.

"What, this? This is where Tweedle fucking Dum shot me! Right after he and his Brother crashed Lily's funeral with shotguns and put Holly and Gren in intensive care!" Bigby growled.

"I'm sorry you two, I didn't know. Maybe...maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but...there's a door behind this file cabinet. I don't know what they keep back there, but maybe it's what you're looking for. Sheriff, that key you found in the cigar box should unlock it," Flycatcher said, pointing at the door and we all walked to the door.

Bigby took out the key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and opened it, the three of us seeing a staircase that led down into the darkness. When I flipped the light switch and overhead lamp came on, I felt pissed that there were storage shelves but they were all empty.

"Shit," Bigby voiced out in displeasure as we were walking down the steps and looking around.

"Sorry guys, I thought for sure there'd be something down here. I mean, why have a secret storeroom and not put anything in it?" Flycatcher questioned in confusion.

"That's the question of the day now, isn't it?" I mumbled in irritation.

"Um, this may not be the best time to ask and all, but I wonder..." Flycatcher trailed off, looking hesitant.

"Yeah?" Bigby inquired, and we looked at Flycatcher questioningly.

"I don't think I can work for the Tweedles anymore, now that I know what kind of people they are. And I know you two and Miss White are close, so I hoping that...maybe you guys could put in a good word to help me get my job back?" Flycatcher asked in anticipation.

"Well, we don't think Crane is coming back to work anytime soon Fly, so we doubt it will be a problem. We'll see what we can do," I reassured, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Gee, that'll be swell!" Flycatcher said gratefully.

"But before we can do that, we have to find Crane, and there isn't a damn thing in this place that can help us. There's nothing here but a bunch of dust, empty shelves, an old mop...and a tube of expired hemorrhoid cream. What are we missing here?" Bigby questioned as he was looking through a medicine cabinet on the wall. My eyes narrowed when I noticed something was off with the mirror.

"Bigby, do you think you can wiggle the door?" I asked and when he looked back at me confused, I said," Just trust me."

Bigby shrugged and when he did what I instructed, the door came off and he commented, "Huh, it lifts right off it's hinges. Very clever, a little too clever. Good work Deputy."

"What's clever? I don't understand," Flycatcher asked in confusion.

"The room isn't empty at all, you just have to know where to look," Bigby stated with a wolfish grin and when he showed us the mirror, we saw the refection showing us that the storage shelves were full with many objects.

"Holy cats!" Flycatcher exclaimed in shock.

"Clever fuckers. Flycatcher, hold the mirror, I have an idea on how to get those objects," I instructed and Flycatcher grabbed the mirror.

Looking at one of the objects, I reached forward and my hand went right through the mirror, grabbing a package and I pulled it out.

"This is bizarre, it's like there's no glass at all, like it's just a...space," I informed while I was looking at the package that had the Crooked man's name on it.

"An ingenious magic space for a couple of idiots to hide their secrets in," Bigby said as I gave him the package and he opened it and took out a test tube that had a blue glowing liquid and the name Butcher was on it.

"Butcher. You know any butchers, Fly?" I asked.

"I mean, yeah, but none who sell glowing blue stuff," Flycatcher explained.

"The Crooked Man, not the first time that name has cropped up in the past couple of days. Dad, I found something else in here. There's a roll of money and a message from Crane. Looks like he's been embezzling from Fabletown," Bigby notified while he was examining the package.

"Of course he is, why wouldn't he be? Well, not only is Crane a disgusting pervert, he's also corrupt as well. Argh, I can't believe that fucker was our Boss," I grumbled in irritation while Bigby put the package back into the mirror.

"Is that what you two needed?" Flycatcher asked.

"Not exactly, but it's something. It helps explain why the Tweedles are involved with Crane, but now we're wondering what the Crooked Man has to do with all of it," Bigby stated.

"Who is the Crooked man, anyway? I've heard the Tweedles mention him, but I don't know anything about him," Flycatcher asked.

"He's a Fable. Sheriff Wolf and I have heard rumors for years that he calls the shots all up and down the Crooked Mile, but nothing concrete. Nobody knows what his real name is or what he really looks like, but he has most of the criminal underworld in New York and New Jersey scared of him," I explained as I spotted a pink box and pulled it out of the mirror.

Opening the lid of the box, I took out a lock of black hair and saw the name Aunty Greenleaf that was written inside. I gave the hair to Bigby and he started sniffing it.

"Hey, is that hair you're smelling? Was that what you two were looking for?" Flycatcher questioned after I pointed out the name. Bigby put the hair back into the box and after closing the lid, I put the box back into the mirror.

"Yeah Fly, that was what we were looking for," Bigby said, and I walked over to the phone that was on the table nearby and called Snow.

After notifying Snow of what we had found, I hung up and said, "Alright, Snow and Bufkin are going to look through the records to see if Greenleaf is there. She told us to meet her back at the office."

"Wow Sheriff, did you and Deputy Pierce really figure all that out from hair? You two really are great detectives!" Flycatcher praised us.

"Don't praise us just yet Fly, we still have a case to solve," Bigby stated as we walked up the stairs and headed to my car.

* * *

Crane's Apartment, Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

When Bigby and I arrived back at the Woodland, we noticed there was a commotion and we followed it until we saw a large group of Fables surrounding the door to Crane's apartment.

"Sheriff's Department! Everyone make a hole!" I announced and the crowd of people moved aside, revealing- Frau Totenkinder and Ozma in the living room, controlling a raincloud while Snow stood nearby, looking none too happy.

"Grimble, keep these people back," Bigby instructed, and the security guard nodded as Bigby and I walked in to see the walls and the furniture looked charred from some kinda fire damage.

"Jesus Frau, what the fuck happened in here?" I questioned in shock.

"Hard to say for certain, but it appears as though this apartment was set on fire, Deputy," Frau stated sarcastically.

"Now Totenkinder, give the poor man a break. Not everyone shares your heightened perspicacity," Ozma remarked.

"Bigby, Nathan! Over here!" Snow called out while waving us over.

We followed Snow to the bedroom and when Bigby opened the door, I saw Swineheart bandaging a splint on Bufkin's clearly broken arm.

"Bufkin! My God, what happened?!" Bigby questioned in horror.

"There's a book with all sorts of information on local witches, you see. I saw it here a few days ago when I was bringing Mr. Crane his tomato soup, so I came up here to get it. But when I got here, he...he was setting fire to the place. I tried to stop him, but he was very strong!" Bufkin explained, looking like he was an agony.

"Crane, that piece of shit. I guess the little weasel is covering his tracks. Did Crane say where he was going?" Bigby inquired, looking like he wanted to tear Crane's head off.

"No Sheriff, not Crane, nobody's seen him since this evening. It was Bluebeard, he did this!" Bufkin exclaimed.

* * *

After Bufkin explained what happened, to say that Bigby and I were pissed at Bluebeard was an understatement and we headed over to the Trip Trap to see if we could find Greenleaf's address in Lily's personal affects. After we got out of the car and I locked the doors, we headed over to the front door and we saw a sign that said that the bar was closed due to bereavement.

Knocking on the door, I heard Gren shouting, "We're closed!"

"Gren! It's us, Bigby and Nathan!" I announced and after waiting for several seconds, the door opened and Gren looked at us with a goofy grin.

"Hey, look Woody, it's Sheriff Wolf and Deputy Pierce. Well come on in, buddies," Gren stated as Woody walked over to see us.

"Gren," Woody spoke up, looking at us in embarrassment.

"What? They're travelers, weary travelers in search of some...hospitality, right? Right? I mean...neither of you must be feeling too good after that shit show," Gren questioned, sounding like he was either completely drunk or high on a powerful narcotic.

"Hey Gren. Yeah, we'll only be here for two minutes, we just need to check through Lily's things," Bigby said.

"Whatever," Gren waved off and he let us in.

After Bigby and I walked in, Gren said, "I want a drink! Anybody else want a drink?"

"C'mon Gren, Dr. Swineheart said you shouldn't mix it with your meds," Woody tried to reason while Gren was grabbing a bottle of malt scotch.

"Seriously Gren, take it easy with that stuff. We might actually need your help, your's and Holly's," I lectured.

"Holly's asleep in the back room, but neither of you will be able to wake her. The Doc gave them Barmecidal Ambrosia for the pain," Woody explained.

"Look, the deal is...if you resist going to sleep...like I am right now...it gives you a very, very, very nice high," Gren explained with a grin.

"I guess that explains why "What's New Pussycat?" Just started playing again," Bigby pointed out dryly.

"Twenty one times he threw in 'It's Not Unusual' for variety," Woody groaned in exasperation, rubbing his face in irritation.

"Listen, have you guys seen Lily's things? Whatever wasn't burned at the funeral?" I asked.

"Holly came in with a box of Lily's stuff, but I didn't see where she put it," Woody said.

"That funeral? That was a pretty shitty send off for a pretty okay lady," Gren stated, looking depressed.

"Yeah..." Woody agreed sorrowfully.

"Fuck you Woody, you weren't there. Course Bigby and Nathan showed up, and that sure didn't make things any less shitty," Gren spat out bitterly.

"Whoa, we didn't shoot the place up, we were trying to keep the peace. Sure I used my service weapon, but that was in defense of life," I defended.

"They got away, didn't they?" Gren inquired.

"Yeah, they did, but I did managed to wound one of them in the process," I answered.

"Whatever, it's alright, I'm too out of it to get in to it. I wanna clear the air. We're all in this dungheap of a fuckin' shit town together, and we're all gonna have a toast. All of us," Gren said while he was grabbing more glasses and pouring scotch into them.

"Guys, we're here for one reason. We need to look through Lily's stuff and see if we can get a clue about where to go next, and get there fast," Bigby said in slight irritation.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, and I want to help you two, okay? And I will...but first, indulge me, It'll take two seconds. As a show of good faith...and after, we'll all hunt and peck for Lily's shit or whatever. Get it? Faith? Like the girl who died on your watch you two?" Gren quipped.

"That's enough Gren, the Doc said you needed rest," Woody intervened and Gren shoved him.

"How many times you gonna fucking warn me about it, huh?! You're not my fuckin' Mother, so just get off my back!" Gren yelled in fury.

"I said I was sorry, alright? I can't do anything about it, it's done! What more do you want?!" Woody retorted and shoved Gren back until they grappled with each other and started struggling, prompting Bigby and I to hurry over and try to separate them.

"Hey, hey, hey! Break it up, the pair of you! What the hell is going on with you two?! Whatever stupid shit that none of you will let go, lock it up or we will have you both arrested for disorderly conduct!" I exclaimed sternly.

"Oh, I forgot! You two haven't heard the news, so I'll tell you all about it! This guy, this walking paper towel mascot, you wanna know what he did?! This walking lard cake was paying Lily to let him fuck her, and behind our backs no less! And Holly had to find out by going through all her Sister's shit! What fun that must've been, huh?! Trick after trick of this fatass and Lily!" Gren exclaimed in rage.

"I obviously didn't plan for that! Bigby, Nathan, you gotta believe me...I never did her when she was dolled up like Snow. I never even knew that was a thing. I'm...I'm getting out of here. Gren, drink yourself into the grave for all I care," Woody said as he was walking to the front door.

"Woody, wait," Bigby said and Woody stopped.

"Yeah fellas, lay into him! Tell the lowlife fuck what you really think!" Gren cheered.

"They can think whatever they want, I don't give a shit," Woody said.

"We think whatever happened was between them, and Lily is gone, so let's put this whole thing to rest, Gren. Lily deserves that at least," I said, and Woody looked down guiltily until he left the bar and Bigby and I looked at Gren.

"Gren..."Bigby trailed off.

"I don't know where Lily's shit is, check Holly's room, I dunno," Gren stated quietly.

"Thank you Gren," I said, and when Bigby and I started to head to Holly's room, Gren spoke up.

"But I wouldn't wake her if I were you. Sleepwalkers and trolls, that's the rule, man. If you'll excuse me guys, it seems that I'm gonna pass out. What a day, am I right fellas? What a fucking day..." Gren trailed off as he slumped forward onto the bar and started snoring.

Giving one last look of sympathy at Gren, Bigby and I headed to the back room and when we opened the door, we saw Holly sleeping on a makeshift bed and under the cot, was the box that was carrying Lily's things. When Holly moved in her sleep, her hand that was blocking the box moved and Bigby gently grabbed it and quietly lifted it up.

 **"Hunnh, issat you Woody?"** Holly questioned groggily.

"Yeah, it's Woody," Bigby lied.

 **"Oh...bar's closed, and Lily ain't around anyway, so...you can run off back to the woods or whatever,"** Holly said drowsily and drifted back to sleep.

Putting the box on the table and looking through it, I felt guilt when I pulled out a picture of Holly, a beautiful woman I presumed was Lily in human form, and Faith, the three of them smiling and Lily's arms around Holly and Faith's shoulders.

 _"Faith, Lily, I'm truly sorry this happened to you,"_ I thought somberly.

 **"Did you care about her at all? She was a nice girl...ran around too much...but a nice girl. I don't know why you came here tonight. Lily's funeral...it was just so fucked. But...I wish you could've been there. I wish I understood what Bigby and Nate are doing, if they even really care,"** Holly suddenly said while Bigby was examining a glamour box.

"They care about this, Holly. About Lily, about Faith. I know they do," Bigby stated.

 **"Yeah? Well...you know them better then anyone. So...I'll take your...word for it..."** Holly trailed off and fell asleep again.

As I was looking at Holly, Bigby tapped me on the shoulder and mouthed that he found a lead while he showed me a small book. I nodded as we left the back room and Bigby went to the phone to call Snow.

"Snow? We've got the witch's address, it was here with Lily's things. 601 West 26th Apartment 23. Right, we're on our way, meet you there," Bigby said on the phone and hung up, then we left the bar, got into my car, and I started driving us to the address.

"Dad, are you okay? You don't look so good," Bigby asked me in concern and I knew he could see that I was upset.

"No...I'm not. First Faith, and now Lily...when is it going to end? Seeing Holly looking so devastated is bringing back memories of when your Mother died, just...fuck! We need to stop this, there's been too much death these past few days, and seeing Holly like that...we need to put an end to this carnage," I growled.

"We will Dad, I swear we will stop this," Bigby said in determination.

"I pray that you are right, or God help us all," I said, feeling like things were going to get even worse pretty soon.


	19. Chapter 19

601 West 26th Street, Bronx, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

"Bigby, Nathan! What took you two so long?" Snow asked as Bigby opened the elevator door and we walked over to her.

"Sorry Snow, traffic can be hell sometimes," I said once we stopped in front of her.

"Come on, Apartment 23 is right around here," Snow gestured as we walked down the hall, turned a corner and stopped in front of the door.

"Huh, not exactly made of gingerbread, is it?" Bigby remarked as he touched the door.

"Well, you know how picky co-op boards can be," Snow commented.

"Wait...I smell Crane. It's faint, but he's been here tonight!" I declared when I caught a whiff of that nasty aftershave that Crane uses.

When Bigby raised his foot, Snow said, "Before you go kicking down that door, could you stop and think a minute about what might be behind it?"

"No time, I'm sure my Deputy and I can handle it," Bigby stated and before he could kick down the door, I stopped him by putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Shit, ease up there Rambo. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not piss off a witch that could cast a nasty curse on us for destroying her door," I reasoned and Bigby looked at me.

"Alright then Deputy, what do you suggest?" Bigby asked.

"Okay, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it quietly and calmly, alright?" I suggested, taking a page out of the book of my former and deceased Mundy law enforcement superior, Sheriff Earl Whitehorse of the Hope County Sheriff's Department.

"Okay...fine, go ahead," Bigby relented, gesturing me to go first.

I walked up to the door and put my ear against it and when I didn't hear anything, I turned to look at the others.

"Hear anything?" Snow asked me.

"No. If anyone's in there, they're being really quiet," I explained.

Then I looked back at the door and I knocked on it. After a few seconds, the door opened and I could see a little girl who was wearing a yellow dress with flowers on it and her hair was in pigtails.

"Hello?" The girl asked drowsily, looking like she just woke up.

"Hi," Snow greeted kindly.

"You woke me up," the girl complained.

"We're sorry about that," Snow said sheepishly.

"Is something wrong? I don't think I've ever seen any of you before," the girl asked curiously.

"Well, pardon the intrusion, but we didn't know this was a munchkin's house," Bigby quipped with a wolfish grin.

"Well Dorothy, it isn't," the girl remarked wryly.

"Sharp kid," Snow commented and the girl giggled in response.

"Dorothy's a girl's name, you know. If I was any less secure in my manhood, I might take it as an insult. What's your name?" Bigby asked politely.

"Rachel, what's yours?" Rachel asked.

"It's nice to meet you Rachel, I'm Sheriff Bigby Wolf and these are my Deputies, Nathan Pierce and Snow White," Bigby introduced.

"Pleased to meet all of you, how do you do? Is there, um...is there anything you need? I'm not allowed to let people in," Rachel asked.

"We're looking for Aunty Greenleaf, does she live here?" Bigby asked.

"You mean my mom?" Rachel inquired.

"Your mom, does she ever...you know, make the nightstand levitate? Turn frogs into cats, that kind of thing?" Bigby questioned.

"What the Sheriff is trying to ask is if your mom is a witch, Rachel," Snow clarified.

"Oh no, I would never call my mommy that, she treats me alright. Is there...uh, something you want? I don't think I can really help you. Maybe come back in the morning?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel, is it alright if we take a quick look around?" Bigby asked politely.

"We'll be very quick, and they won't touch anything," Snow reassured.

"Okay...fine, but make it quick," Rachel said and she let us inside.

I kept looking at the girl suspiciously. I didn't know if it was just me, but something about her seemed familiar and I had this feeling that Bigby and I had met her before.

"I've been here all night, nobody's been here!...okay Mr. Wolf, I'm gonna trust you and your Deputies not to break anything. Please don't get me into trouble," Rachel said and she walked over to a chair that was in the living room.

"What are we looking for specifically?" Snow asked while Bigby and I entered the living room.

"Crane, or any indicator as to where he went after he met with Greenleaf," I stated as we walked over to a photo of Rachel and an elderly woman who was wearing glasses.

"Is that your Mom?" Bigby asked.

"Uh huh," Rachel replied.

When Bigby saw a record player that was nearby, he asked, "Let me guess...Big Band or Classical?"

"Honky Tonk," Rachel remarked.

"Well, there is no accounting for taste, but who am I to judge," I commented and Bigby and I kept looking.

When I saw a burner stove, I said, "It's pretty rare to see a burner stove like this one."

"Dowdy. That's just how we like it," Rachel commented.

"Is your Mom a hunter?" Bigby inquired when he saw a deer skull that was mounted above the stove.

"Oh no, she never...that was found in the woods around Dix Mountain, I think," Rachel explained.

I narrowed my eyes when I saw a sheet covering a space, and I moved it out of the way to see a tree that was sitting near the window.

"What's this? It looks like a tree," I asked, and Rachel quickly walked over and blocked my path.

"That's mommy's special tree, don't touch it! If you touch it, she'll turn your eyes to dust and fill your heart with maggots!" Rachel warned.

"Is that so? It kinda looks like a ficus to me," Bigby mumbled as he walked over and examined the tree.

"It's powerful and dangerous magic, and it's what she carves her trinkets from. It comes from the old country, from deep in the woods," Rachel explained.

 _"Deep in the woods? Why the hell does that phrase sounds so familiar?"_ I thought suspiciously. I looked at Bigby and could see that he had the same thought. Bigby nodded at me to let me know that something was wrong here.

When I spotted a workbench, I walked over to it and saw a glamour box that had the familiar white deer on it. I looked at Bigby and gestured for him to come over and he walked over to me.

"Oh, I see, and would this be one of the aforementioned trinkets?" Bigby asked as he picked it up and I saw Rachel starting to panic.

"Don't touch that!" Rachel exclaimed in horror.

"Why? Does it do something?" I questioned as Bigby and I examined the box.

"I don't know, but she'll be so angry! She'll hit me and hit me! Is that what you want?! Do you want me to bleed?!" Rachel exclaimed frantically.

"Snow, doesn't the deer on the cover here look a lot like the one on the spell box we found on Lily?" Bigby inquired while he was showing the box to Snow.

"It does," Snow agreed.

"Wait! Here's the truth, okay? That man I heard you talking about? Crane? He was here, just a few minutes ago," Rachel explained.

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Yes! He and my mommy talked and then they left. They said they were going to New Jersey at a motel called the Pine Barrens Lodge, off the turnpike!" Rachel told us as Bigby grabbed a hammer.

"That's very helpful Rachel, in an extremely specific and convenient way. Well, if she's in New Jersey, then I guess there's nobody here to stop me from doing this," Bigby remarked as he put the box back on the table and raised the hammer.

"No!" Rachel cried out in panic, but Bigby smashed the box and Rachel started glowing.

At that time, I realized where I knew her from and it all came flooding back.

* * *

 _Salem, Massachusetts, The New World, 1692._

 _"Yes, what is it?" Crane inquired as Bigby and I entered the schoolhouse._

 _"We have come to bid you farewell, Master Crane. Your lessons in gentility have imparted at least that much upon us in the way of proper decorum," Bigby stated._

 _"Ah, yes, back to New Amsterdam with you two today, is it? Fine, it is just as well, since my passion for your educations has withered and died," Crane said._

 _"No final lesson to impart, Schoolmaster? No last page in our primer for humanity?" I questioned._

 _"You lot run now to the gallows and take your instructions there. In moments, John Proctor's feet will swing free in the stifling air of this sanctimonious town. It is there that you lot will see a true man. By Abigail's accounting, he is perhaps the only one this town has to offer. Leave me now you two and quit this town. Never return," Crane said bitterly and he started rubbing his head._

 _"Though we have seen you at your lowest Master Crane...we take no pleasure in it," Bigby stated as we turned around and started to walk the door._

 _"Oh, I have further depths to plumb, Wolf," Crane mumbled as we walked out of the building, and we stopped when we spotted a little girl who was wearing a school uniform and had her hair in pigtails._

 _"Good morning to you, Sirs," the girl greeted kindly._

 _"And to you, young miss. You are here to visit Master Crane? I am afraid you will find him in ghastly spirits," Bigby explained._

 _"Aye, and I aim to lift them," the girl stated and showed us a small present._

 _"Do we know you? You are not one of Crane's students..." I questioned in confusion._

 _"No indeed, nor have I come calling for some while. I live deep in the woods, far from the school proper. But, I know Crane of old, and I do him a favor from time to time," the girl explained._

 _"Deep in the woods...pardon girl, but...do you know of a chalk-white doe in those woods? We have glimpsed her once or twice, but we have never seen anything quite like her before," Bigby asked._

 _"Aye, I know this deer, Sir. They say she is far faster and cleverer then any wolf. She has lived a great long while in this new world and has never been caught, and what's more...they say she never will. Good day Sir!" the girl said cheerfully as she walked past us._

 _Bigby and I turned around to see the girl unwrapping the present with this malicious look on her face, and our eyes widened in shock when the girl was surrounded with light. When the light stopped, Abigail Williams was standing in the girl's place with the same look of malice on her face, and she entered the schoolhouse._

* * *

Once I stopped reminiscing, Rachel stopped glowing and the elderly woman from the picture stood in Rachel's place, glaring at Bigby.

"You motherfucking runt, Bigby Wolf! It fucking hurts when you break it like that!" Greenleaf protested angrily as she pointed at him.

"Snow, say hello to Aunty Greenleaf. She and the two of us go way, way back," I introduced while staring at Greenleaf coldly.

"Wait, Nathan, you and Bigby met Aunty Greenleaf before?" Snow asked in confusion.

"Long time ago, it was back in Salem around the same time my Deputy and I first met Crane. Back then, before he began his creepy obsession on you, Snow...he was fixated on one of his students. A village girl named Abigail, some wannabe witch," Bigby explained and Greenleaf let out a laugh as she walked over and sat down in her chair.

"Ha! That little twat was no more a witch then my bowel movements are golden eggs," Greenleaf declared.

"Crane turned the whole town against itself, all in this mad quest to impress her, but it wasn't enough. She ran away to Boston and broke what passes for his heart," I explained.

"I had perfected the art of the glamour, even back then. So, when Crane was at his lowest, I came to him disguised as his absent Abigail and provided him...succor. Where do you suppose he got the idea of glamouring random women up to look like the trollops he really wanted to fuck? As if the man were clever enough to come up with that notion on his own," Greenleaf stated.

"Alright enough! Start explaining everything, from the beginning," Snow demanded as she put her hands on the arms of the chair and leaned forward.

"Very well. I was born deep in the woods, to a jackal and a white deer-" Greenleaf started to say.

"Okay, not that far back. What we wanted to know is where Crane is, or if you had a way to help us find him," I stated.

"I've got brass balls, not crystal ones. How am I supposed to know where he's run off to?" Greenleaf snapped in irritation.

"You do realize that you're an accomplice to murder, right?" Bigby questioned as he pointed at her.

"Maybe you wanna holster your finger and check your facts, cowboy. Besides, you're loopier than a shithouse rat if you think I'm gonna help you and your Deputies. There are powers at work here that are well beyond your pathetic "authority"," Greenleaf stated.

"Listen Greenleaf, whatever is keeping you from saying something, we can protect you," I reasoned.

"Christ Deputy, your naiveté would be sweet if it weren't so fucking dangerous," Greenleaf grumbled.

"You know what I think? I think we have been more than patient. You've been selling illegal glamours that undermine everything we've built! You're harboring a fugitive who took advantage of those glamours! And now, you're resisting every opportunity to make things right!" Snow yelled in fury.

"Ooh, this one's got some feist in her!" Greenleaf exclaimed mockingly.

"Frankly, I don't give two shits if you're afraid for your life, lady! Because at least we can make sure that you never hurt us again!" Snow stated.

"Oh? And just how do you plan to do that, Princess Pump N' Dump?" Greenleaf challenged.

"We're destroying the tree," Snow declared and Greenleaf's eyes widened in horror.

"What?! No! How dare you come in here and threaten to take from me the one thing...that tree is ancient. It's part of the family and the only thing paying for this shithole apartment! The Fables who can't afford the "official" glamours from your tight ass 13th floor bitches come to me for help. Where would you have them go?" Greenleaf protested.

"Spare me the sob story, you're spinning other people's misery into gold. Two Fables are dead because of this crap. You're insane if you think we're leaving something this powerful in your hands," Snow said coldly.

"Do you think I like being the old woman in these stories?! The men are chiseled heroes! The ladies are painted whores! And the old hags like me get to stand by and watch while everyone they love dies!" Greenleaf shouted in frustration.

"All things you should've considered before you used your gifts to destroy people's lives. Bigby, Nathan, this is an order...burn the tree," Snow ordered and Greenleaf frantically stood up and blocked our path.

"No! No! I'll tell you what you want to know! Crane was here and he left. He took my ring and went to the Pudding 'N Pie. He was planning to use it on the girls there, to get information," Greenleaf said desperately.

"What does this ring do?" Snow questioned.

"It's the Ring Of Dispel, he thinks it'll pierce the protection around the girls speech. Unseal their lips basically. Poor bastard thinks that wrenching the truth out of them will prove his innocence, but that fucking ring lost its power ages ago. And truth...well, what good did that ever do for anyone," Greenleaf stated bitterly.

"I appreciate the information, I really do. Bigby, Nathan...? Burn that thing to the ground!" Snow demanded.

"Today's your lucky day Greenleaf, the Sheriff and I are hiring you as the Business Office's newest witch in the residence," I informed.

"Nathan!" Snow exclaimed in disbelief.

"Let's think about this logically, Snow. The witches on the 13th floor will keep her out of trouble, and we have a glamour shortage. In the end, everyone wins and Greenleaf gets to keep her tree," I reasoned.

"Just don't expect me to bow down to your little woman here," Greenleaf said smugly and Snow scowled at her.

"You are lucky that Deputy Pierce is here. Don't think for one second that this is over," Snow growled.

When we turned around and left the apartment, Snow shot me a look that told me that I was going to hear it from her later, but I look back impassively since I had faced far worse.

After we got in the car and I started driving us to the club, Snow asked, "What the hell were you thinking, Deputy?"

"I was exploring other options, Snow," I replied.

"By disobeying orders! Why the hell would you do that?! What possible reason would drive you to do that?!" Snow demanded.

"You wanna know why? Fine, I'll tell you. I'm far from perfect Snow, and I've made a lot of mistakes that I'll always regret for the rest of my immortal existence. But the biggest mistake of all of them...is brainwashing my Son so that he could follow me on my path of revenge. When Winter died, something in me just snapped and I wanted blood. Once I saw what my Son had become, I wanted to be punished for what I had turned him into. I crossed a line, and I vowed to myself that I would never do it again. Listen Snow, there's a difference between following procedure and crossing a line, and burning Greenleaf's tree is most certainly crossing a line. You can put me on desk duty or fire me, but I'll stand by my decision," I stated decisively and everything became quiet after that.

* * *

The Pudding 'N Pie, Bronx, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

We pulled up to the curb and we got out of the car.

"That's his car, he's here!" Bigby declared as he pointed at Crane's green Rolls Royce Silver Spirit.

Once I was done locking the car doors, we walked inside the club and saw Georgie talking to somebody on the phone.

"Oh fuck me, hold on. Sheriff, Deputy, is there something more I can help you with? Decided you blokes want a taste of the wares?" Georgie questioned, and when he saw Snow, he continued, "Oh, I see...come to audition your bitch."

"Where the fuck is Crane?" Bigby growled.

"Ichabod Crane? What would that nerd want with a place like this?" Georgie lied.

"Do not even think about lying to us, Georgie. Crane's car is right outside, now where is he?" I demanded.

Before Georgie could retort, we heard Crane's voice ring out from the dressing room.

"Tell me what you know, damn you!" Crane shouted.

Bigby, Snow, and I immediately headed to the door and when we opened it, my rage grew when I saw Crane holding Nerissa by the shoulders and shaking her while the woman with the blond hair was trying to pry him off her.

"Tell me the truth, you little trollop! Tell me who's responsible for this!" Crane demanded while Nerissa sobbed in distress.

"Crane! Get your fucking hands off her!" I roared out and the little weasel looked at us in shock and was forced to let go and back up when Bigby and I approached him menacingly.

"I didn't do anything and I didn't kill anyone! Tell them Nerissa, you can speak now! This ring nullifies the silencing spell that's been placed on you!" Crane yelled as he aimed his fist at Nerissa.

"My lips...are sealed," Nerissa stated.

"No! You have to tell them, you have to! Tell them I'm not a murderer! Tell them-" Crane tried shouting desperately, but he was cut off when Bigby and I grabbed him and dragged him to a wall.

"The ring doesn't work anymore Crane, Greenleaf said so," Bigby stated as we pinned Crane face first to the wall and I started patting him down to make sure he didn't have any weapons on him.

"She also told you that I'm Innocent, didn't she? Bigby, Nathan, you know me! You know I'd never do anything like that! Right?!" Crane pleaded.

"Actually, she didn't seen to care about what would happen to you. Listen, you know we've seen the pictures of you and Lily, so enough with the innocent act," I said sternly.

"Yes, but...but that was just...it's not what you...it's not what you think!" Crane stuttered.

"No? Then what the hell is it?" Snow snapped in disgust.

"I...I love you, Snow White. I love you so much, and I have...for centuries. When I think about you, my heart dances a staccato rhythm. You breathe life into my soul! And I know you could never share my feelings. I know I'm no Prince Charming or...anyone else you could ever...care for. I'm not stupid...I just love you," Crane declared while he was raising his arm and Snow recoiled in revulsion.

"What you did with that girl Crane, that's not what love is. The fact that you think it is? That may be the sickest part of this whole thing," Snow stated.

"I...I have a problem! I need help!" Crane yelled in distress and he started sobbing.

"Bigby, Nathan, I don't think he did it," Snow stated and we looked at her in shock.

"What? Snow, you don't think this perverted bastard has anything to do with the murders? You think this is all just a coincidence? We know he glamouring up a woman to look like you Snow, and now that woman is dead. We also know that he was embezzling from Fabletown. Obviously, he's involved," Bigby said.

"I had no choice, you know. Some of us didn't happen to make it out of the Homelands with a castle full of treasure. I work hard for Fabletown...I was just balancing the scales a little, I deserved it," Crane stated bitterly.

"There's a big difference between someone being involved and someone being a killer," Snow retorted.

"Snow is right, this whole thing is bigger than Crane. Look at him, Crane is a spineless coward, he wouldn't have the stones to send the Tweedles after us. Somebody else is involved," I chimed in.

"Wait, what about us?! Nerissa and I are probably next, right?! So, if this walking penis didn't kill Faith and Lily, then who the hell did?!" the woman with the blond hair asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" Bigby asked politely.

"My name is Vivian," Vivian said.

"Vivian, I don't suppose you can tell me and my Deputies who put the whammy on you that keeps you from talking about all of this?" Bigby asked.

"My lips are-" Vivian started to say.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to say anymore," I said.

"Please Snow, can't you see that my love for you clouded my judgment? It's just that I-" Crane piped up but he was cut off.

"Oh my God, enough! Bigby, Nathan, arrest him," Snow spat out in displeasure.

"Actually, I have another Deputy who does all my arresting. If she's up for it, of course," Bigby suggested as I took out a pair of handcuffs from my duty belt and gave them to Snow.

"Oh, she most definitely is. Ichabod Crane, you are under arrest for misappropriating Fabletown funds. You have the right to remain silent, And please, for the love of God, use it right now," Snow stated as she put Crane's hands behind his back and put the cuffs around his wrists.

"Move it Crane. You're going to a holding cell, not junior prom," I snapped in irritation when Crane didn't move.

"Forgive me for clinging to some last, tiny shred of pride in the midst of my downfall. You and Wolf may be able to play Sheriff and Deputy somewhere under those macho appearances, but when I look into the mirror, I expect to see myself for who I really am...oh!" Crane said when he started eying Vivian, who shoved him away out of disgust.

"Deputy White, would you mind getting this assface out of my way?" Vivian grumbled.

"With pleasure, Vivian," Snow agreed and she grabbed Crane.

"Oh yes, your "jobs". And what a noble profession you've chosen," Crane said sarcastically.

"That would sting a lot more if you hadn't of been my most frequent "massage" client, you wrinkled old fuck. I guess you'll have to look elsewhere for your happy endings," Vivian retorted.

"I'll come to my own conclusions, you ungrateful-" Crane started to snap at Vivian, only he shut up when I smacked him gently in the back of the head.

"Remember when I mentioned your right to remain silent?" Snow warned.

"And speaking of jobs, Miss White. Please don't tell me that the three of you think you have what it takes to run Fabletown's business office? The things I had to sacrifice in my time as Mayor...It'd make you ill to know about even a handful. You won't be in that chair for five seconds before you have to give up something you care about. As for me, all I ever did was the best I could, with what little I had at my disposal, and this Godforsaken town took everything from me," Crane stated bitterly as we were heading to the back exit.

"Yeah, well, we're not to worried about it, Crane. Turns out we're a hell of a lot better at keeping on top of things then you are," Bigby remarked as we left the building and entered the alleyway.

We were heading to the street when a muscle car pulled up in front of us and it slowly started heading to us.

"You were saying?" Crane piped up.

"Shit," I mumbled.

"Seconded. What do we do?" Snow asked.

"Go back," Bigby stated, and we turned around and started heading in the other direction.

We turned around the next corner and we were about to leave the alleyway when a limousine and two other cars pulled up and blocked the way, forcing us to stop. I put my hand on the butt of my gun. I glared when the Tweedles got out their cars and aimed their shotguns at us while a woman exited the limo with a revolver. The woman that was in our line of sight appeared to be in her 20s. She had brown eyes and short black hair that had a red streak in it. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a white tank top with black jeans and a pair of black biker boots.

"Why, if it isn't everyone's favorite Sheriff and Deputy, taking their sexy gal pal out for a night on the town! You people are so collectible, like a shelf full of Precious Moments figurines. With your eyes so big and confused, and your bodies so fragile and easy to break, it's fucking adorable, it is. But Wolf, Pierce, White, where are my manners? I have you all at such a disadvantage. I know everything I need to know about you three, and you don't even know my name. Hey Dee, tell 'em my name, would you? The one the Mundies think is such a riot?" The woman suggested to Dee. As she was walking through a puddle, I noticed that she didn't have a refection.

"Uh...It's Bl...Bloody..." Dee stuttered nervously.

"It's Bloody Mary. The name shouldn't incite plain ol' everyday laugh riots, it should incite plain ol' everyday riot riots. Dope, guns, fucking in the streets. Does that put you on edge, little miss authority figure? Cause I'm pretty sure I just caught a whiff of somebody's bladder uncorking," Mary said softy at Snow, then she turned at Crane, grabbed his chin, and continued, "Of course, I can't say I'm surprised...since you're clearly Coprophiliacs. By which I mean, you grabbed hold of a little turd named Ichabod Crane and thought you were gonna get to play with him yourselves. But, see, this particular lump of shit belongs to the Crooked Man, who sent me to flush him out and bring him back."

"I didn't tell them anything Mary, I swear it!" Crane exclaimed in terror, and got slapped in the back of the head by Snow.

"Shut your mouth Crane, you've done enough damage!" Snow said sternly.

"Yes! Beautiful! That should be your slogan when you run to replace him as Deputy Mayor, White!" Mary cheered.

"You can shut up too! You are interfering with official Fabletown business. Step aside!" Snow demanded. Mary pouted.

"Aw now, if you're not careful, you're gonna lose me as a campaign volunteer. I was gonna be so happy to stuff your box, and then commit ballot fraud for you," Mary stated mockingly.

"Please Miss White, don't hand me over to her!" Crane begged frantically.

"Don't worry Crane, she's leaving here with nothing," Snow vowed.

"Well now, that's simply not true! I'll have a song in my heart...and blood on my hands! Whose blood, and how much? Those are questions for Sheriff Wolf and Deputy Pierce here. Though, probably should've asked them before they died," Mary said casually before walking back to the limo.

Dee and Dum started shooting their shotguns and my training kicked in, making me dive out of the way and quickly using a nearby dumpster as cover. When I pulled out my gun, I looked back and my eyes widened in horror when I saw Bigby getting hit multiple times. His back hit the wall and he slid down to the ground.

"Bigby! You fuckers are dead!" I roared out in fury and I started shooting back, forcing the Brothers to take cover. They fired back in retaliation, making me duck back into cover.

When the shooting stopped, I went into a prone position and shot at Dum, hitting him in the foot and causing him to yell in pain as he dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks, forcing Dee to grab him and drag Dum out of the line of fire while he was shooting at my cover. The slide of my P226 locked back and I pushed the release button, pulling out the magazine and loading my gun with a fresh one. When I was about to start shooting again, I heard a snarl, and I looked back to see Bigby slowly getting up, his eyes glowing gold and looking beyond pissed off. Shifting into his half wolf stage, Bigby started to approach the Brothers menacingly and they started firing at Bigby, who jerked from the buckshot peppering him and he stumbled to one knee before his body started changing into his anthro stage that looked like a seven foot tall black humanoid wolf that was standing on digitigrade paws and had a tail. I held fire because I didn't want my Son to get hit in the crossfire and Bigby roared in fury before he lunged at the Brothers, who quickly moved out of the way. Bigby grabbed a dumpster, throwing it at Dee and Dum who dived out of the way. Bigby took the chance of leaping at Dum and grabbing his shotgun, hitting him hard in the face with the stock. Seeing Dee aiming at Bigby, I quickly holstered my gun and shifted into my anthro stage, charging at him on all fours and tackling Dee to the ground. Bigby and I lifted the Brothers by their necks and pinned them to a wall.

 **"We don't die easily, Tweedles. How about you two?"** I snarled menacingly.

"This is so exciting! I wonder who'll win?!" Mary exclaimed in excitement.

Bigby and I growled and we raised our claws to gut them when Snow yelled, "Bigby, Nathan, don't!"

Bigby and I looked at Snow, who was staring at us in horror and then we dropped the Brothers roughly to the ground, staring at Snow sadly. I looked at my pawed hands, feeling disturbed about what I had been about to do.

 _"Oh God...what the fuck was I about to do?"_ I thought, horrified that I was about to kill someone in an agonizing way.

"That is so Goddamn touching. It's like Old Yeller. You guys ever see Old Yeller?" Mary asked mockingly.

"What are you-" Snow started to question in confusion.

"The dog dies in the end," Mary stated before shooting Bigby in the torso.

Before I could react, Mary shot me and the bullet struck my Kevlar vest, causing me to stumble back. My paws slipped on a puddle of water, making me fall and crack my head against the brick wall.

"Oh God! Bigby, Nathan, no...what did you do to them you bitch?!" Snow roared out in distress.

"Ooh, you're sexy when you're angry. Silver bullets baby. Sure they cost a little more, but you can't argue with results. So much for the Big Bad Wolf and his Deputy. Big...Bad...Wolf. Big...B...Wolf. Holy shit! I get it now!" Mary exclaimed in realization, laughing as she walked to the limo. She reached into the open back window and pulled out Woody's axe.

"Now, you probably don't know this about me, Miss White...but I'm something of an amateur stage magician. I know, I know...where do I even find the time for a hobby? The thing about magic is, there are so many elements that you have to perfect. You gotta have some pyrotechnics to really start things off with a bang! The right props are crucial, like this thing for example? The blade never ever goes dull! Can you believe I picked it up at a pawn shop for next to nothing? It helps to have a smokin' hot assistant. You ever consider fishnets, White? Pop the top couple buttons on that blouse, give the crowd what they really want? Anyway, gotta work up some stage patter of course," Mary declared as she raised her arms and did a slight mocking bow while I watched helplessly.

"Laaaadies and gentlemen! Scumbag Deputy Mayors of all ages! The great Bloody Mary will perform a feat of prestidit...prestidigitiz...oh what the hell, fuckin' magic! Watch in wonder as I saw this Sheriff and his Deputy in half before your very eyes! No smoke and no mirrors! And then of course, the subtle art of misdirection...hey, what's that over there?! It certainly isn't me chopping up these wolfies into stew meat with my awesome axe!" Mary exclaimed mockingly.

"Stop! Just...just stop. Take Crane, I don't care. But...stop, alright? Please," Snow begged while I was struggling to sit up.

Suddenly, the back window of the limo opened and a hand reached out and made a gesture, causing Mary to grumble, "Well shit, I did not see that one coming. Looks like the Crooked Man is willing to accept your terms. I guess I gotta relax the axe instead of handin' out whacks. Ain't that just a kick in the sack?"

"You'll get over it," Snow spat bitterly.

"Y'see White, that's what I admire about you. Your indomitable spirit! I know we got off to a rocky start tonight, but once this is all behind us, you maybe want to start a book club or something? I mean, I've just been using my copy of The Corrections to kill roaches. They get so suicidal after the first few chapters! Well, think it over, I'll bring the boxed wine. Meanwhile, I gotta teach Ichabod here how to keep his Headless Horseman in his pants, instead of sticking it in every Sleepy Hollow that looks like yours. Oh, and just between us? Now that we're the bestest of gal pals? Crane here isn't the killer you're after," Mary informed Snow as she grabbed Crane and escorted him to the limo.

"Excuse me?" Snow inquired.

"I mean look at this face, poor guy couldn't break a pinata, much less carve up a hooker. Kinda like your hairy boyfriend and his Deputy over there, too pussy to ruin a Tweedles day. Anyway, thanks for helping me out with my magic act. For my last trick, I'm gonna make this skeevy old man disappear! All I have to do is focus your attention elsewhere," Mary declared and with a sadistic grin, she brutally stomped Bigby's arm, breaking it and causing the bone to come out, Bigby roaring out in agony.

"And then, poof! He's gone!" Mary declared after she shoved Crane into the limo and she bowed slightly.

"Thank you so much, you guys have been a great crowd. If you had fun here tonight, I hope I'll see you again at the late show. Fair warning though, that one can get a little blue, so leave the kids at home! Good night and God bless!" Mary said cheerfully as she slid over the hood of the car and got in, then the limo drove away.

I was shifting back to my human form as I staggered over to Bigby and Snow. I unsteadily sat down and held my Son in my arms as it started raining.

"Snow...get the car...now," I gasped out while tears ran down my cheeks.

"But-" Snow tried to say something, but I shot her a look of distress.

"Dammit Snow! He needs help! Get the fucking car!" I roared out while I shoved the keys into her hands.

Snow jumped and quickly ran out of the alleyway while I kept holding my Son.

"Please God...don't take him from me...please...not him...not my cub..." I sobbed out.

 **"Dad...tell Snow I said thank you..."** Bigby gasped out in pain.

I didn't say anything but still kept sobbing as Snow arrived. We picked up Bigby, put him in the car, and I frantically drove us back to the business office.


	20. Chapter 20

Bigby Wolf's Apartment, Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

I kept pacing while Swineheart was removing the silver shards that were lodged in Bigby's bullet wound.

After I managed to get the three of us back to the Woodland without crashing into anybody, Snow called Dr. Swineheart and we waited for a few minutes until Swineheart arrived and began to remove the sliver shards.

"Nathan, will you please quit pacing, you're making everyone nervous," Snow lectured while Colin was looking at me in concern.

"Sorry Snow. Doctor, will he be okay?" I asked as I stopped pacing.

"Hollow point bullets are a nasty business. The sliver slug deformed and shredded on impact," Swineheart informed me while he was pulling out another shard.

"He'll be okay, though...right?" Snow inquired.

"His internal organs are positively riddled. If I don't extract every single scrap of sliver, he's liable to suffer some long-term toxicosis..." Swineheart notified while he was pulling out another shard.

I perked up when Bigby regained consciousness and started groaning. Swineheart cautioned Bigby to stay still, saying, "Easy there, try not to move."

"Oh fuck..." I whimpered in horror when Bigby started gagging and he spat out blood, trying to move his broken arm.

"We can't keep meeting like this, old boy...I figured I'd be done before you were conscious, but there's little I can do for the pain. Just stay still and let me finish," Swineheart lectured as he rooted through the bullet hole for another shard.

"Swineheart...how bad is it?" Bigby groaned out in agony.

"Well, not the worst I've seen, but damn near it. I must say...you're testing even my skills here," Swineheart mumbled as he pulled out another shard.

Bigby groaned when he tried to move his arm, and it started to move unnaturally, showing the bone even more.

"Son! Don't move your arm, you're suffering from a compound fracture!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Please Bigby, you heard Nathan, don't move it. Doctor..." Snow implored.

"Look, I'm a bit engaged with saving his life at the moment...but if the fractured extremity concerns him that much, he can set it himself," Swineheart stated as he kept looking for another shard.

"Okay Son, if you are going to set your arm-here," I said as I unbuckled my normal belt that was under my duty belt and handed it over to Bigby.

"Bite down on this," I instructed, and when Bigby shot me a look of confusion, I continued, "Trust me, It'll help."

Bigby bit down on the belt and I walked over to his arm, grabbing it.

"Brace yourself son, 'cause this is gonna hurt like hell," I warned and Bigby nodded.

I started to pull hard, making Bigby scream through the belt as the bone slid back in under the skin. And with one final jerk, the bone popped back in and Bigby exclaimed in agony while the belt fell out of his mouth and his eyes flashed golden for a second.

"There you go son, it's over now," I reassured as I picked up my belt and buckled it around my pants.

"Hm...not bad, that'll do, I suppose. Deputy, where did you learn how to do that?" Swineheart inquired.

"I broke my arm once while I was serving in 'Nam. There was an explosion from a landmine that sent me flying and I landed on my arm. Since my unit had no medic, I had to reset my own arm, and as you can imagine, it hurt like you wouldn't believe. That experience scared the shit out of the other members of my unit," I explained as I remembered that day with a grimace.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you have some form of medical training, Deputy. Sheriff. I do my best to work on you, and lately you're just undoing it all in no time flat. Imagine if I came along and let the crooks out of jail as soon as you and Deputy Pierce arrested them," Swineheart stated as he pulled out the last shard and started sanitizing his equipment and hands in the nearby sink.

"Fabletown doesn't have a jail, Doc," Bigby remarked.

"Sophistry won't save you when your internal organs collapse, silver bullets are no joke. You can't take much more of this. Our kind are long-lived, but we are not immortal like the Deputy over here. You survived last night Bigby, you should count yourself lucky," Swineheart lectured as he walked over to the door and left the apartment.

"Bigby, Nathan and I are glad you aren't dead. Last night...it was so terrifying. You stopped breathing, and I thought Nate was going to snap when you did," Snow stated in relief.

"You were fucked up, man! It was like when you take an action figure and melt it with a magnifying glass and shit!" Colin exclaimed, and I glared at the pig Fable.

"Colin, you really need to work on your bedside manner," I deadpanned.

"Well, I'm fine now, okay? I just want to get back to work. This whole thing- Snow, the Crooked Man, Bloody Mary, it keeps getting bigger then we thought. What's the Crooked Man's angle? What does all of this have to do with him?" Bigby questioned thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but he came out of the shadows for a reason. For him to attack us so blatantly means he either feels invincible, or desperate," Snow commented.

"You'd better hope it's desperate. You traded Crane for Bigby and Nate, that's not something you do when you're playing with house money. Know what I mean?" Colin remarked as he was dragging on a smoke.

"What was I supposed to do?! It all happened so fast! I couldn't let Bloody Mary just...kill them!" Snow defended herself.

"Hey, don't...ow! Don't worry about it. If you hadn't done what you did, nothing would've changed, except that me and my Deputy would be at the bottom of the Witching Well...instead at home watching a pig smoke all my cigarettes," Bigby said pointedly while he was glaring at Colin.

"Eh, I'll buy you a new pack," Colin remarked wryly.

"The real question is why? Why declare war on us over someone like Crane? Is he that important?" I questioned, putting my hand on my chin.

"No, it's because he didn't declare war on us last night. This war has been going on for years, and we never noticed because we've been turning a blind eye to it. As of right now, things change," Snow declared sternly.

"Oh shit," Colin groaned out.

"We need to start doing things the right way. We have enough monsters in this town without becoming monsters ourselves," Snow stated at she looked at me and Bigby.

"Sometimes it takes monsters to fight monsters. Right, Bigby?" Colin asked.

"I...I don't know Colin, this is all above our pay grade," Bigby said hesitantly.

"With Crane gone, I'm Deputy Mayor now. And I say that if we can't run this town without...growing fangs, then we have no business doing it at all," Snow stated as she put a hand on her hip.

"Oh Jesus, that's rich. You gotta let Bigby and Nate do their thing. You think the bad guys are hamstringing their people?" Colin questioned.

"He has a point Snow. You said we're at war, right? Then Bigby and I are going to need every available advantage against the Crooked Man and his gang of thugs. Take it from me, I'm a former Second Lieutenant of the United States Army that served in Vietnam for five years. I know just how dirty the enemy can be. If we want to win against the Crooked Man, then we need to be just as dirty, but not too extreme. We need to show the Crooked Man that we're not going to take this lying down. Forbidding us to use our ability to change form is going to leave me and Bigby at a severe disadvantage," I stated seriously.

"You may have a point Deputy, but we can't let things slide anymore. And that includes this...ludicrous situation," Snow declared as she gestured at Colin.

"Excuse me?" Colin inquired in slight offense.

"Starting today, all unglamoured Fables go to The Farm, period," Snow stated decisively.

"Snow, are you sure about-" Bigby asked.

"There are people out there who will point a gun right at us and pull the trigger. They're tough, so we have to be infinitely tougher. Do I make myself clear?" Snow said as the phone rang.

Snow walked over to the phone and answered it.

"Wolf's Residence. Bufkin, yes, what is it? Yes, I'll tell them, thanks," Snow said until she put the phone down and looked at us.

"Bigby, Nathan, that girl Nerissa from the Pudding 'N Pie is in your office. She says she wants to talk to you two, and only you two. In the meantime, I need to get changed anyway," Snow informed us as she gestured to her bloodstained clothes and left the apartment.

"Jeez guys, are you two just gonna let her take charge like that?" Colin inquired.

"Snow is in charge now, Colin. If she says that's how it is, then that's how it is," Bigby stated as he was buttoning up a new shirt and adjusting his tie.

"Oh sure, I get it. "I was just following orders." Spoken like a good little fascist," Colin grumbled sarcastically.

"Colin, shut the fuck up," I retorted in slight exasperation while I was pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Jawohl, mein herr," Colin mocked as Bigby and I left the apartment.

After a few minutes of walking through the building, we arrived at our office door that said Sheriff's Office and had our names painted below. Bigby opened the door and we saw Nerissa, who looked at us and smiled.

"Hello Sheriff, Deputy," Nerissa greeted.

"Hello Nerissa, it's good to see you again," I said as Bigby and I walked into the office and I shut the door.

Our office had two separate desks and file cabinets that were placed facing each other so that we could talk whi;le we worked. Bigby's desk was a little messy, covered haphazardly with files and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts. Just above Bigby's desk was a board that had many posters and flyers on it. In contrast, my desk was clean and orderly with a photo of me and my military squad standing in front of the camera, though I always rolled my eyes when I saw Private Chavez sticking out his tongue and making a bunny ears gesture above my head. On the wall that was next to my desk was a case that displayed my Congressional Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Valorous Unit Award, and Purple Heart.

"Have a seat," Bigby offered as he sat down at his desk, and Nerissa sat down on a chair that was in front of the desk.

"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice," Nerissa said.

"It's no trouble at all, Nerissa. We've more or less forgotten what sleep is like, so it doesn't feel like a big loss at this point," Bigby reassured.

"Are you and Deputy Pierce okay? You two didn't look so good last night. I thought maybe...well, good thing Fables are hard to kill, right?" Nerissa remarked as she lit up a smoke and inhaled deeply.

"The sun's barely even up. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I tried to go home, but I couldn't sleep, and I thought...I thought...I can't say what I thought," Nerissa stated.

"Because of the spell Crane talked about... but you did manage to help us earlier," Bigby said.

"I made an "appointment" with you both. Did you get what you wanted from it?" Nerissa asked.

"Yes, we did, it helped. You lead us in the right direction by giving us a trail to follow. Maybe it could work again?" I asked gently.

"Sometimes we have to find our way through life on our own, grasping and fumbling in the dark. I used to have friends who would help me find my way, but they're gone now. Lily and...Faith," Nerissa said sorrowfully.

"What is it Nerissa? Are you trying to tell us something?" Bigby asked in anticipation.

"We had so much in common, you know?" Nerissa stated and when she gestured at her ribbon, my eyes widened in realization.

"Of course! It's the ribbons! That's why none of you can say anything! The ribbons are keeping you and the other girls from saying anything. Oh God, and if one of them is removed..." I trailed off in horror, and Nerissa nodded.

"Jesus, that's fucked up. Well, we now know how Faith and Lily died," Bigby stated and he got up, walked over to Nerissa, and put his hand on her shoulder sympathetically.

"Do you two have friends? People you've known a long time? People who live here that you can talk to?" Nerissa questioned to us.

"Uh...not really. I guess we mostly keep to ourselves. Why do you ask?" I asked in confusion.

"There's beauty in having someone to talk to, I think," Nerissa stated.

"There's beauty in...ah. Yes, I suppose there is," I said in realization.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Nerissa immediately stood up with a look of terror on her face.

"If anyone finds out I came here..." Nerissa stated frantically.

"It's okay, it's probably Snow. You can trust her," Bigby reassured, and he started walking to the door until Nerissa grabbed his arm.

"Listen...Sheriff, Deputy...can you keep this conversation between us? I could be in a lot of...trouble. I shouldn't be talking to you two. Please," Nerissa pleaded.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," I said.

"Thank you," Nerissa said gratefully as the door opened and Snow walked in, wearing a dark coat and skirt.

After a few awkward seconds, Snow said, "Sorry for interrupting, I just need to talk to Sheriff Wolf and Deputy Pierce for a moment, please excuse us."

"Wait here Nerissa, it won't take long," Bigby said as he and I walked out of the office.

"What did you find out?" I asked.

"I might have a new lead for you two, but I don't know how solid it is. Beauty and Beast called the office just now. They said they wanted to talk to you about something. I wonder if they've heard about Crane..." Snow trailed off thoughtfully as Nerissa walked over.

"Sheriff, Deputy, thank you for listening. You two should go on to your next business, I don't think you'll be wasting your time," Nerissa stated and she walked away.

"Uh, wait, you don't have to go!" Snow called out, but Nerissa turned around the next corner and disappeared from our line of sight.

"Well, that was...abrupt," Snow said awkwardly.

"It's...one way to send a message," Bigby agreed as we walked back into the office and Bigby and I sat down at our desks.

"What did she tell you two?" Snow asked.

"You don't need to worry, we handled it. She couldn't talk because of the spell, but we managed to understand each other. We did our jobs, the right way," I reassured.

"Okay. It's just that you have given me a reason to doubt you. Surely, even you two can understand that. And the past few days have been...trying," Snow said.

"We understand what you're saying, you just have to trust us, Snow. And we're pretty sure Nerissa left convinced that we're on the right track," Bigby stated.

"Okay then, good work. So, about Beauty and Beast. Do you both think there's something to it? Is this the right place to look? What could they know about the Crooked Man? Or, do you think they just heard about last night...and they're scared about what's been going on?" Snow questioned while Bigby was lighting up a smoke and dragging on it.

"Beauty told us that she had to take out a loan from the Crooked Man. Seems like a pretty bad deal," I informed her.

"I can only imagine what they're thinking now," Snow said as we walked to the elevator and she pushed the down button, "We need to solve this before something else happens. Who knows what-"

Snow was cut off when the doors opened, and Bigby and I walked in.

"I have...other matters to attend to. Deputy, I thought about what you said before, and you're right. I'm giving you and Sheriff Wolf full authorization to change form, but only for emergencies. Are we clear?" Snow asked me.

"Understood, Ma'am," I agreed as the doors closed and we started heading to Beauty and Beast's apartment.

* * *

The doors opened and Bigby and I started walking down the hallway. As we stopped in front of Beauty and Beast's apartment, we heard them arguing. I knocked on the door, causing Beast to open the door a crack and glare at us.

"Sheriff, Deputy, what do you want? You two just walking the halls, knocking on random doors and stirring up trouble?" Beast asked in displeasure.

"You called, right? or, uh...was it Beauty?" Bigby inquired.

"Why would I call either of you?" Beast asked bitterly.

"Look Beast, we're sorry that you're pissed, but please don't take it out on us, we've had a pretty shitty night," I said sternly.

"You think you're the only ones?" Beast snapped in irritation.

"And we really don't wanna deal with the runaround. Snow said you called and wanted to talk to us," Bigby chimed in.

"Well, I didn't call. Must've been Beauty, she's been...surprising me a lot, lately," Beast said bitterly.

"Can we-" I started to say and got cut off.

"And so have you two. Yet, with all the sneaking around and secrets, somehow, I'm still the bad guy in this. I've had to hear about it all night long from her," Beast stated.

"Who is it? Who's there? Beast? Who's at the door?" I heard Beauty question.

"Listen Beast, if you don't want to talk to us, then can you please get Beauty?" Bigby grumbled irritably.

"I don't know, is it safe to turn my back?" Beast asked sarcastically.

"Okay, that attitude is not helping. Can you please just open the door? It's rude not to invite us in, don't you think?" I inquired.

Beast looked down for a few seconds and then he shut the door. After waiting, Beast unchained the door and let us in.

"It's your pals, Bigby and Nathan," Beast said to Beauty as he walked past her and into the living room.

"Wow, nice place you guys got here. Really nice," Bigby commented as we headed to the living room.

"Yeah, thanks. I'd tell you two to "make yourselves at home," but I'm worried you'll start pissing on things to mark them," Beast retorted.

"Don't mind him, you two. If you'll just excuse us for a moment...Beast, can I talk to you in private?" Beauty suggested as she lead Beast into the bedroom and closed the door.

"Shit, I guess I really do have the smallest apartment in the Woodland," Bigby stated as he examined the living room.

Looking at the chandelier, I remarked, "Damn, I wonder what the electric bill is for that thing?"

"Hm...talk about living in the past," Bigby mumbled as he was staring at a painting of Beauty and Beast standing next to a open window that showed a view of the Homelands.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened, and Beauty and Beast walked into the living room.

"Listen guys, we thought you were having money problems, but looking at this place, It doesn't seem like you're are having problems. So, why take out a loan from the Crooked Man?" I inquired.

"Hold on. Assuming, hypothetically, that we did have something to say about the Crooked Man...what if we talk to you two about him, and then this all comes back to bite us in the ass? Speaking to you both about him...we'd be risking an awful lot. We've seen what happens to people who cross the Crooked Man," Beast explained.

"We can protect you, but only if you tell us what we need to know. And that means details, no more stonewalling," Bigby reassured.

"We aren't!" Beauty exclaimed defensively.

"Then just tell us what's going on here," I said.

"Look, we're used to a...a certain kind of lifestyle, all right? A certain standard of living. Where we came from, we were royalty. No expense was spared. You can't just expect us to give that up," Beast explained.

"We never meant for it to get like this, it's just that...we had nowhere else to turn. And we got in over our heads," Beauty stated.

"There's not a lot of work out there. Who would we be if we just lived like-" Beast started to say until he was cut off by the phone ringing and the answering machine activated.

"Hi, you've reached Beauty!" Beauty voice rang out cheerfully.

"And Beast!" Beast's voice also rang out cheerfully.

"And we're out dong something fabulous," Beauty's voice stated on the machine and I shot a deadpan look at Beauty and Beast.

"Uh, let me just, uh..." Beast said nervously.

"Can we please just finish this conversation first?" I asked.

"I should get that," Beast said stubbornly.

"Come on," Bigby said.

"And we will get back to you as soon as humanly possible, beeeeep!" Beauty and Beast's voices on the machine mimicked the beep that rang out and a pissed off male voice started speaking.

"That fucking message! I'm gonna come down there and bash your heads in with that machine if I have to call again and hear that fucking message one more time! I've been doing this long enough to know that if you had the cash, you'd have paid by now, so consider yourselves out of warnings! It's time to start thinking about how else you can settle this. Cause next time, I'm making the house calls. The Crooked Man's gonna get his, one way or another," The voice threatened until the recording stopped.

"Who is that?" I inquired.

"Look, we need to know how to find the Crooked Man. Who do we talk to? Where did the money come from exactly? Walk us through it," Bigby said.

"Jersey, at the Lucky Pawn. I'd heard him at the Open Arms, talking to people about loans. So, when I needed the money...I went to see him. Plenty of people pass through the Lucky Pawn, guys. The Tweedles were always going in and out, probably dropping off payments they'd beaten out of some poor Fable. I even saw the Woodsman's axe there just a couple of days ago, hanging in a display case. Guess he's hit hard times too. It's clear that the Crooked Man runs the place, but I've never once seen him there," Beauty explained, and my eyes narrowed at the name Jersey, knowing who she was talking about.

 _"The Jersey Devil, why the fuck am I not surprised that the slimy prick is involved in all of this? I didn't know that he was back on this side of the river. The Crooked Man must've made him an offer he couldn't refuse,"_ I thought.

"Wait, how often are you there, Beauty? You make it sound like a regular hideout," Bigby questioned.

"Sometimes...Fables sell things they brought from the Homelands. Things you can't find anywhere else. I didn't want to...miss out on a one of a kind deal," Beauty stated guiltily.

"Jesus Beauty, are you hearing yourself? Those other Fables you're talking about could be friends of yours. You're buying a piece of someone else's misery, with money you don't have," I lectured in disbelief.

"I know! I've made lots of mistakes...I know that now, but it's over now, okay? I'm finished," Beauty said, holding her hands on her head, and Beast held her close out of concern.

"My Deputy and I think it's time to go check out the Lucky Pawn. Even if the Crooked Man won't deign to show his face there, then maybe we can make enough noise so that he'll come to us," Bigby stated.

"Hold on you two, don't go there. Sounds like you're just going to get Beauty in trouble and...you both know that butcher shop? The Cut Above? It's the place on Tubman Street. Same block as the Baker and the Candlestick Maker. Well, I've been delivering packages there for a while. The thing is...it's for the Crooked Man, and...I don't think it's meat in the packages. You two gotta understand, I needed work," Beast confessed, looking ashamed.

"You have to believe us, we didn't think it would turn out like this," Beauty pleaded.

"We're decent people, guys," Beast reasoned.

"We're sorry that it's gotten so rough with you two, but you're telling us that with a place like this, you're so desperate that you need to work for the Crooked Man? The guy you're so afraid of?" I questioned skeptically.

"Hey, it's not like he runs the counter and hands me the boxes. I never met the guy," Beast protested.

"How did you get involved with this?" Bigby asked.

"Johann The Butcher called, he had a problem with the refrigeration unit one night. But when I finished, it was your pal Mary who showed up to pay me. She said I was reliable, she liked that and...it's the only thing I've been able to pick up, and it's still not enough. I don't want Beauty to have to work, especially not where she was. It's up to me to take care of her," Beast stated.

"Okay, here's what you are going to do. You are going to quit working there, 'cause working for people like the Crooked Man and Bloody Mary is never going to end well, understood?" I suggested.

"Of course. I just wanted to provide for Beauty, give her the kind of life she deserves," Beast said as Beauty gently grabbed his hand and squeezed slightly.

"We shouldn't have to live like this, scraping to get by," Beauty said bitterly.

"None of us should. We were royalty once. We were accustomed to a certain lifestyle. All we want is to make this place feel a little bit like home. Neither of you would understand," Beast said bitterly.

"Okay, you listen here, there are a lot of Fables who are a lot worse off then you, or me and Deputy Pierce for that matter. So fuck you for having the nerve to act all high and mighty," Bigby snapped in irritation.

Wanting to change the subject, Beast asked, "So...where are you two going? If this all goes sideways, I'd like to know where it's coming from."

"Okay, here's what we are going to do. Bigby, you head to the Cut Above while I head to the Lucky Pawn. If we go to two places at once, we'll cover ground much faster," I told Bigby, who nodded in agreement.

"You know, once you two show your faces at those two places, word is going to get out," Beast warned us.

"We know. Stay safe," I told Beauty and Beast as we started to leave the apartment, but we stopped when Beast spoke up.

"Guys, wait! I don't know what will happen if you two find the Crooked Man. But, if you both do find him, do you think you could find a way to...help us out?" Beast asked.

"What are you implying?" Bigby inquired suspiciously.

"Maybe just make all this money business...go away. We'd really appreciate it," Beauty offered.

"Yeah, and people in hell would really appreciate some ice water. We know what you two are suggesting, but we don't go around fixing debts. You got yourselves into this mess. But, if you're lucky though, what we're planning to do might just take care of all of your problems anyway," I stated.

"Oh thank you, guys," Beauty said gratefully.

"We're sure you two will do the right thing," Beast told us as we were leaving the apartment.

* * *

The Lucky Pawn, The Crooked Mile, Bronx, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

I pulled up to the curb, got out of my car, locked the doors and walked up to the pawn shop. I opened the door and walked inside, and felt a headache forming when I saw an unglamoured Toad trying to sell an ugly donkeyskin coat to Jack, who was at the register.

"It's dirty," Jack pointed out.

"No it's not!" Toad protested.

"It looks like you slept in it, in a pile of garbage," Jack stated bluntly.

"Jack, why are you...I've seen you take a torn purse for a tenner!" Toad argued.

"Yeah, but I also got her phone number. I don't want your phone number," Jack remarked, and when he saw me, he groaned, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What?" Toad asked in confusion.

"Nathan's here," Jack informed Toad, whose eyes widened in disbelief as he started sweating nervously.

"Oh bollocks..." Toad trailed off when he turned to look at me.

"This is a surprise," Jack stated.

"Deputy," Toad greeted hesitantly while I stared down at him sternly with my arms crossed.

"Toad...why the hell is it that when Sheriff Wolf or I see you, you never have a fucking glamour on? Why is it so hard to just follow the damn law?" I questioned in exasperation.

"Look, I know some Fables can shape-shift from man to beast and back again, like changing shirts...but it's not so easy for the rest of us to look human, alright? And anyways, I'm getting the money right now," Toad retorted.

"I'm not taking the coat," Jack refused.

"But it's magic!" Toad shouted in frustration.

"So?" Jack inquired.

"And it'd be covering a check I already wrote," Toad stated.

"Okay, well...that sounds like a "your problem" problem to me," Jack said offhandedly.

"Yeah, it is! And so I came here to sell it off!" Toad yelled in irritation.

"Why would you think I'd take an ugly, used, muleskin coat?" Jack questioned, looking at Toad like he was an idiot.

"Cause it's magic muleskin, that's why! And It's not even muleskin, it's donkeyskin!" Toad argued.

"Wait, hold on a minute...that's Faith's coat!" I stated and looked at Toad suspiciously.

"It was Faith's coat. Look, the Sheriff and Miss White left it in my place, what'd you expect me to do?" Toad protested.

"Yes, I think the oft-cited statute of "Finders keepers" clearly states that it's his now, Nate," Jack remarked, and I glared at him for being a smartass.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Toad asked.

"I don't know what to tell ya. See if Cindy needs a coat, I don't know," Jack replied, and Toad threw his hands up in frustration before looking at me.

"This is to pay for those bloody glamours, you know. You and your blinkered laws. If the witches didn't charge so fuckin' much, I wouldn't have to be in here, dealing with this nonsense," Toad complained.

"What are you complainin' to him for?" Jack inquired, causing Toad to shoot a glare at him.

"Toad, I don't make the laws, Sheriff Wolf and I just enforce them. I'm sorry that you're frustrated, but do not take it out on me. Look, why don't you go talk to Snow, maybe she can help you out. In the meantime, consider yourself out of warnings, because I'm sick and tired of having to deal with this shit every single time. If Sheriff Wolf and I see you without a glamour again, you and your son are going to the Farm, even if we have to drag you there, kicking and screaming. Get your shit together," I stated sternly.

"How could Snow help me out?" Toad asked condescendingly.

"Maybe she'll give you an advance...a loan or something? She's kinda the Deputy Mayor now," I explained.

"Well, the last bloke who was the "Deputy Mayor" didn't help us much. So forgive me if I don't expect anything different now," Toad grumbled bitterly.

"I don't know what you're getting so steamed about...it shouldn't be that much of a shock that I'm not going to take an asshair coat," Jack piped up.

"No, I guess it shouldn't be...since this whole bleedin' operation's just a set-up for one of his shady fuckin' loans," Toad snapped in irritation, causing Jack's eyes to widen in horror.

"Ix-nay on the oan-lays. Okay, og-fray?" Jack whispered frantically with one hand covering the side of his mouth, but Toad didn't listen.

"I mean, what kind of a game are you runnin' here?" Toad questioned suspiciously.

"Toad-" Jack tried to stop him but it didn't work.

"You turn down peoples stuff so you can peddle his shit?" Toad asked angrily, and Jack looked at me and shrugged before glaring back at Toad.

"Shut...up," Jack emphasized.

"You know Toad, it's funny you should mention that, 'cause it's exactly why I'm here," I stated pleasantly and Jack started looking nervous.

"You...want a loan? I didn't really think...you were the type," Jack questioned in confusion while still looking nervous.

"Well, tell me how it works first," I said.

"You know, um...I'm sorry Nate, but I really shouldn't be talking about this with you," Jack stated.

"Deputy, you know this is a fuckin' Crooked Man place, right?" Toad suggested smugly.

"Toad!" Jack exclaimed in shock.

"He uses fancy boys like Jack here to squelch the honest business man, and forces him to lay on credit into servitude," Toad explained.

"High interest isn't servitude, and nobody's complained before," Jack defended.

"Who'd listen...well, I'll leave you to your business, I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about," Toad remarked as he grabbed the coat and started to walk out of the pawn shop.

"Good luck with that glamour, Toad," Jack retorted as Toad left.

"Fuck off!" Toad shot back.

"Toad, leave the coat," I spoke up, causing Toad to stop and look at me like I have two heads.

"How the hell do you expect me to get a glamour then? It's not like I got a lot of options, you know. It's just...tough, Deputy," Toad stated sorrowfully as he threw down the coat in frustration.

I looked down at Toad, feeling sympathy and after a few seconds of hesitation, I sighed and took out my wallet, pulling out money and showing it to Toad.

"Okay, I'm not suppose to do this, but here, take it," I offered, and Toad's eyes widened in surprise.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Jack trailed off, rolling his eyes.

"Do you even know how much a glamour costs?" Toad questioned.

"No, I've never had to buy one," I replied.

"Keep your money, Deputy. I've got no patience for charity," Toad grumbled in irritation.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to help out. Look, if you're going to be outside in broad daylight like this, then can't you at least wear a bigger hat?" I asked as I put the money back in my wallet and put the wallet away.

"You know, it's getting hard to tell the difference," Toad said.

"Between what?" I inquired.

"Between the Business office and Fables like the Crooked Man, who you and the Sheriff purportedly seek to protect us from. Either way, I'm getting screwed," Toad snapped bitterly as he picked up the donkeyskin coat and started to walk out of the shop again.

"Drop by any time," Jack called out sarcastically.

"Toad, enough! I'm sorry that you are having problems, but do not ever accuse me of being dirty! Dirty cops are the worst kind of criminal, and I never want to be associated with them or accused as one! Sheriff Wolf and I are nothing like the Crooked Man!" I exclaimed angrily as Toad left the shop.

"He really grows on you," Jack remarked, and I shot a glare at him.

"Shut the hell up, Jack. My son was nearly killed last night by the Crooked Man and now I'm being accused of being a dirty cop. So as you can imagine, I'm in a pretty foul fucking mood right now. So if I hear one more smartass comment..." I trailed off threateningly, and Jack put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, fine. Look, like I told you before, I work here and I do, so don't act so surprised. And before you ask, I've never seen the Crooked man in here. Neither hide nor hair, and all that. In fact, as far as I can tell, he's never even stepped foot in here," Jack stated.

"But Bloody Mary works for him. And the last time Sheriff Wolf and I saw her, she had the Woodsman's axe," I said.

"So?" Jack inquired.

"So the last time anybody else saw that Axe...it was here," I stated.

"We'd never take something like that...is this really why you came down here? The Woodsman's axe? Cause I don't know anything about that," Jack lied.

"I'll be asking the questions here, Jack," I said lowly.

"Okay, fine. Fire away, 'cause I'm not a mind reader. And unless it's bar trivia, I don't think I can help much anyway," Jack said quickly.

"There's more then just pawning going on here. You got the loans...what else? Maybe it's like a...weapons locker too? Was the axe here?" I questioned.

"No," Jack denied.

"Are you sure? Cause you'll be in a lot more trouble if I find out that you're lying to me," I warned as I looked around the shop.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I'd notice a giant mystical Axe, and that's saying something. Since, you know, I can sometimes miss the obvious. I'm just joking, I never miss anything. Steel trap and all that," Jack stated.

"Beauty told me and Sheriff Wolf that the Axe was here. She also told us about a lot of other things," I said.

"Look Deputy, people get desperate...and when you're drowning, anything that isn't sinking along with you looks like a life raft. The Crooked Man gives, and he wants things in return. And when you don't pay up, bad stuff happens. Why do you think I've never taken one? A little credit card fraud never hurt anybody, I should know. But the Crooked Man?" Jack explained.

"Bad stuff? You mean he kills them?" I questioned.

"Or worse. Simple Simon tried to open up a bakery...took out a loan to help with the expense. But when he started getting late on the payments...the Crooked Man put him into one of the pies and served it to a litter of alley cats. At least...that's what I heard. Listen, I gotta start closing up shop so, uh-" Jack said and I cut him off.

"Close? It's the middle of the day," I pointed out in confusion.

"What can I say, Jersey likes to run at odd hours. And really, he'd be the one to talk to. So...can't you just swing by later? It really wouldn't be good for me if he sees your face when he walks in. So, uh, I'd really rather you not be here physically if he comes back, you know. He's not what I'd call a...friendly fellow," Jack suggested.

"I still think you're hiding something, Jack. Maybe the Axe is back here," I stated suspiciously.

"It's not!" Jack protested.

"That thing was bad enough in the Woodsman's hand, and if it's not here, Bigby and I need to track down that psychopath who had it last," I said seriously.

"It's not here," Jack emphasized.

"You better hope not, or you'll be arrested for possession of stolen property," I stated as I turned around and started to take a look around as Jack walked over to the front door and closed the metal gate half way.

Looking at a display cabinet that had a cracked crystal ball, I mumbled, "What I wouldn't give for a premonition of the future right now."

Noticing an anvil that was nearby, I asked," What's the anvil for?"

"Blacksmith didn't need it," Jack replied.

"Huh, I haven't seen him around for a while," I commented and looked at a statue of the Headless Horseman that was sitting on his horse.

"Don't I recall seeing this at Crane's apartment once?" I asked.

"Maybe, I don't know," Jack said.

"You wouldn't have happen to have stolen this, did you?" I questioned.

"I swear...on Toad's life," Jack denied.

Shaking my head, I looked at the next cabinet and saw a familiar decorated knife.

"This is Prince Lawrence's dagger...did he sell this?" I asked Jack.

"I don't know. Look, are you almost done? A dagger isn't exactly the Axe so, uh, who cares, really, " Jack said.

"It's just...sad to see it here like this," I stated sorrowfully.

"Oh please, sad is watching Dickory Dock sell the mouse and the clock so he can afford clean sheets. You and Bigby don't know how hard most of us have it...do you?" Jack inquired hesitantly.

"No, we know what it's like," I answered.

"It was a rhetorical question, but sure, fine," Jack stated as I looked at another cabinet.

My eyes narrowed when I saw that it was empty and I examined it to see there were signs that Woody's Axe used to be in the cabinet. I turned around to storm over to Jack, who was trying to quietly escape.

"Wait a Goddamn minute! I thought you said you would never take something like this!" I exclaimed.

"Uh...um, what? I-I don- I don't...um..." Jack stuttered and let out a nervous laugh.

"I warned you what would happen if you lied to me!" I growled.

"Okay, c'mon Nate, that wasn't-" Jack tried to say, but I cut him off.

"The Axe was right here all along! Now tell me what happened to it!" I demanded.

"I don't know anything about that! I don't, really! I mean, I don't work here every day, so...and even when I do work, I just try and keep my head down," Jack reasoned.

"For God sake's Jack! For once in your life, just tell the fucking truth. What happened to the Axe?" I questioned.

"It was Mary! She took it, okay?! That's all I know!" Jack shouted.

"That's all you know?! You don't know she almost fucking killed my son with it last night?!" I roared out in fury as Jack backed up and I followed him behind the counter.

"No, no, I had no Goddamn idea! She sometimes comes in to pick up shit. Sometimes it's for her, sometimes it's for the Crooked Man. But I'm smart enough to not ask questions, alright?" Jack explained.

"Why did she take it? Was it just to fuck with me and the Sheriff?" I questioned.

"You think I'm crazy enough to ask her that? I'm not sticking my foot in that lawnmower, thank you," Jack retorted.

"Well, for your sake, you better think of something to tell me, because my son nearly died last night. The Crooked Man and Bloody Mary made their last big fucking mistake when they tried to kill my son, and now they're going to learn that they started a war they can't win," I snarled in rage, feeling the urge to shift into my eight foot tall wolf form.

"That's all I can tell you! I'm being straight here, this is just part-time. I mean, it's Jersey who's into this stuff. He's one of the Crooked Man's boys, okay? And it would be great if he was here to tell you all of this, but he's not, so just-" Jack said and got cut off when we heard Woody's voice.

"Jersey, don't-don't give me that shit. What the fuck is the point of havin' a system if you're just gonna-" Woody started to complain and got cut off by another voice.

"It's not my fucking system," the voice of whom I assume was Jersey rang out irritably.

"But you-you're the guy who makes sure that-" Woody said.

"I'm the guy that keeps shit in order and that's it, Woody," Jersey stated as the front door opened and the two people in question walked in.

"Who closed the fucking gate? Jack?" Jersey questioned when he noticed the gate was halfway closed and opened it.

Jersey's human form was a middle aged man with balding red hair and a mustache. His choice for attire was sunglasses, a gold chain around his neck, and a tracksuit.

"If you love your Axe so fuckin' much, why'd you pawn it in the first fuckin' place, huh?" Jersey questioned.

"I didn't pawn it asshole, it was stolen from my apartment. And Gren said that he saw it here. Now tell me where it is, right fucking now," Woody demanded.

"I think while tempers are running high, we should keep demands to a minimum, okay?" Jersey warned as I walked into their line of sight.

"Hello fellas," I greeted.

"Christ, are you shitting me? This fucking guy too?" Jersey questioned in disbelief.

"Nathan? What are you-" Woody tried to ask.

"Is his Axe even here?" Jersey asked Jack.

"Nope, it isn't," Jack replied.

"Just like I said, it's not here. Happy?" Jersey stated as he walked over to me, poked my chest, and said, "Listen Deputy, I've got shit to do. So whatever you're here for, make it snappy."

"Uh...he just wanted to know where-" Jack tried to explain and got cut off.

"Actually, you know what, I don't care what he wanted," Jersey stated.

"Wait, we're not finished yet!" Woody cut in.

"Yes, we are," Jersey retorted.

"Okay Jersey, first of all, if you touch me like that again, I'll arrest you for assault. Second, you're dealing with me now, okay? And until I give you permission, you're not going to do anything but answer my questions," I declared.

"How's your chest? Bloody Mary leaves a bit of a sting, don't she? Jack, did you know that as of this very morning, Nate and Bigby's joined the Crooked Man's obedience school for wayward fucking creatures? They already passed their first class. You see...the Sheriff and Deputy had who they stupidly thought was the murderer...been chasing him for fuckin' days, right? But the Crooked Man snapped his bony fingers...and they handed him over just...like...that," Jersey explained smugly while I started glaring at him.

"I'm, uh, just gonna, uh...let you two...you know," Jack chimed in nervously as he backed up to the front door and quickly left.

"The Crooked Man appreciated that," Jersey mocked.

"Jersey, go fuck yourself," I growled and then Woody started yelling when he saw the display case that used to have his Axe.

"What the fucking hell! Are you kidding me?! It was here, it was right fucking here! What did you do with it?!" Woody exclaimed in anger.

"How the fuck do I know?!" Jersey snapped in irritation, prompting Woody to grab Jersey by the collar.

"Listen you bald little dipshit, you're gonna-" Woody started to threaten until he was cut off when Jersey slugged him in the stomach and Woody stumbled back.

"You piece of shit!" Woody snarled, retaliated with a right hook, and started grappling with Jersey, who put his hands around Woody's throat.

"I'm gonna...rip...your fucking...lungs out!" Woody grunted as Jersey tried to choke him.

"I'd like...to see you try, you backwoods fuckwit!" Jersey taunted.

"Oh, big talk...you won't be talking when I'm done with you!" Woody snarled.

"Yeah, I'll be laughing!" Jersey stated arrogantly.

I quickly walked over, grabbed Jersey and Woody, then I separated them both and turned to Jersey.

"Back it up Jersey, you're dealing with me now," I stated.

"I didn't expect you to be upright. Still looking for whoever killed them hookers, or are you done chasing your tail?" Jersey taunted.

"Where's my Axe?! Who'd you give it to?!" Woody demanded as he was walking over.

"You follow me here all the way from Battery fucking Park, just so I can prove to you that your Axe isn't here. And you think I'm gonna take another inch of abuse? Are you out of your fucking mind?" Jersey questioned.

"Okay, both of you step back and settle down!" I exclaimed sternly.

"Oh, and what the fuck are you gonna do? You talk big, but I don't think you got the stones to back it up," Jersey challenged.

Jersey threw a punch at me, but I caught it and put his arm behind his back roughly.

"You...fuckin' mother...fucker!" Jersey exclaimed in pain and I smashed his face on one of the display cabinets, causing a crack to appear on the glass.

"Motherfucker!" Jersey yelled before I smashed his face onto the glass again, making it and his shades break and needles from a display punctured his face.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and pulled me away from Jersey. When I looked, it was Woody.

"What the hell are you doing?! This is my fucking fight!" Woody snapped in irritation.

"For fuck sake's Woody, not now! Can't you see I'm trying to contain this situation?!" I exclaimed incredulously.

"Dog, you gotta lot of nerve-" Woody started to yell, but was cut off when we heard bones cracking and changing.

Woody and I looked at where Jersey was at, seeing him shift back to his true form, which was a tall and gray skinned monster with claws and a deer skull with antlers for a head.

Jersey roared and Woody tried to charge him, only for Jersey to knock him down and start slashing with his claws, prompting me to run over and kick Jersey hard, sending him flying until he crashed into a locker that was at the back of the store. I let out a snarl as my hands changed into pawed hands, gray fur grew on my arms while Jersey climbed up on top of the display cabinets.

 **"Aww, protecting your friend, too bad you couldn't protect those whores. Go on, try to stop me!"** Jersey taunted and lunged at me, and I retaliated by grabbing him with my claws and slamming him down to the floor.

"Fucking stay down!" I roared out in fury and ran over to where Jersey was.

Grabbing the store gate that was above Jersey, I slammed it down onto him, causing Jersey to let out a screech of pain. When I lifted the gate and went to hit him a second time, he grabbed the gate and threw it up. I backed up as Jersey stood up and I dodged a few swipes, retaliating by hitting him twice. Jersey lowered his head, charged at me, and I grabbed his left antler to prevent myself from getting impaled. After struggling for a few seconds, I used my lupine strength to snap off Jersey's antler and I impaled him with it, causing Jersey to howl out in agony.

 **"Fuck...you!"** Jersey roared out before tossing me toward a display cabinet, and I crashed against it.

Jersey leaped at me and he pinned my left arm onto the cabinet with his claws, and then I was forced to move my head to prevent it from getting bitten off. I grabbed Jersey's neck and leaned back as far as I could while Jersey kept trying to bite me. Then I saw Woody walking over to us with his Axe.

"Hey assholes, I found her!" Woody declared and swung his Axe directly into Jersey's head.

Jersey screeched in agony, knocked Woody to the ground with his hand, and thrashed around. Taking advantage, I grabbed the Headless Horseman statue and slammed it on Jersey's head, making him drop like a sack of bricks. I put my pawed hands on my knees, leaning forward and breathing heavily. As my hands changed back, Woody walked over and grabbed the handle of his Axe, ripping the blade out of Jersey's head and hovered it over Jersey's neck. Woody looked at me and nodded as I walked over and looked down at Jersey coldly.

"So asshole, wanna try again?" I asked tiredly.

 **"You can't find the Crooked Man, no one can. There's no address, no place...he lives in the bends and forks of tree roots...behind the sun...in the...shadows,"** Jersey stated weakly.

"That's not good enough," I growled.

 **"The door to his house...it bounces around. Never in one spot. You'll never find it. Even Crane had to use the Magic Mirror...that fucking guy...mirror, mirror...fucking shit,"** Jersey groaned out in pain.

"Okay, that's Crane's way...how do you contact the Crooked Man?" I asked.

 **"I don't, he uses couriers for everything. Ravens, goblins, the fuckin' Tweedles...whatever. I go in when I'm taken there. You and the Sheriff don't know anything...about anything, do you? What do you two have? Nothin'. That useless bitch Snow White and a broken fuckin' mirror...no fucking friends. And no clue about who is really runnin' this town,"** Jersey stated.

"Hold on, where did you hear about the mirror being broken?" I questioned.

 **"Oh, that, gossip flies fast. We're like a sewing circle. It doesn't matter what you fuckin' do, you and the Sheriff are not gonna get him. You two wanna knock on his fucking door and see what happens? Fine. Crane had the mirror. Bloody Mary had Crane. So take your fucking wrecking crew act to the butcher shop,"** Jersey spat out.

"The Cut Above. Well Jersey, you don't need to worry, Sheriff Wolf is already there. And if the mirror piece is there, he'll find it. And we'll get to find the Crooked Man when we fix the mirror," I explained.

 **"That's her spot. That's where all the magic happens...now leave me so I can find some aspirin,"** Jersey groaned out as he tried to crawl away, only he slumped to the ground.

"He ain't going anywhere," Woody informed me as he raised his Axe and rested it on his shoulder.

"What about Mary, is she going to be there?" I asked Jersey.

 **"You want me to draw you a picture? I don't fucking know...you got what you want, now get the fuck outta here..."** Jersey trailed off and slumped his head to the floor.

"So Woody, where did you find the Axe?" I asked.

"In the back room of the shop. You ought to check it out," Woody replied as he gestured to a door that was nearby.

"What about Jersey?" I questioned.

"Don't worry about him. Head split open like that? He's not going anywhere for a couple of minutes, easy. Take all the time you need," Woody stated as we started walking to the door that was in the back room.

"Well, time is the one thing that Bigby and I do not have. I sure don't have enough of it to be wasting it with...holy shit..." I trailed off in shock when I opened the door and saw an armory inside.

"I know, right? Looks like Jersey's been stockpiling for awhile now. Is there some kinda war coming that I don't know about?" Woody questioned while I stared at military grade weapons, explosives, and RPGs that were property of the United States Military.

"This armory must be a sort of lending library for people in the Crooked Man's employ...like that psychopath Bloody Mary, or those asshole Tweedle twins. But what's really got me shocked is that I know some of these weapons and explosives. Most of them was used in Vietnam during my time in the U.S. Army. The Crooked Man must have some serious connections in the U.S. Government, since it is illegal for Mundy civilians to purchase all of this. Fuck, I need to tell Bigby about this," I stated as I left the armory and headed to the phone, picking it up off the receiver and calling the butcher shop.

"Hello?" A voice I didn't recognize spoke.

"Hi, this is Deputy Pierce of the Fabletown Sheriff's Department. Is Sheriff Wolf there?" I inquired.

"Yes he is," The voice said.

"Thanks. Can you get him for me?" I asked.

"Uh, sure, hold on," the voice said, and it became quiet until my son started speaking.

"Deputy, did you find anything?" Bigby asked.

"Yes. I found an armory that's filled with military grade weapons, explosives, and RPGs. What about you, did you find anything?" I inquired.

"I did, and things are a lot worse then we thought. I found a room in the back of the shop where the Crooked Man and his thugs were making all sorts of glamours and God knows what else, and he's been using slave labor to do it," Bigby explained.

"Jesus Christ," I said in shock.

"And that's not all I found. There are chalkboards that have names of many Fables on them. From what I can tell, the Crooked Man has nearly all of Fabletown under his control. The good news is that I found Crane's coat, and it had the mirror shard we were looking for," Bigby explained.

"Nice work, Sheriff. I'll meet you back at the Business Office," I stated and hung up the phone.

"So, now what?" Woody asked as we were starting to leave the armory.

"Bigby and I meet up back at the Business Office, we fix the Magic Mirror, and we find the Crooked Man so we can end this," I declared in determination as we headed to the front door, but we stopped when Jersey spoke up.

 **"Hey...Deputy, those girls are still dead, and there is nothin' you or the Sheriff can do to bring them back. I don't know what they did, but I do know this...if they're dead, it's because the Crooked Man wanted them dead. That's all it takes. So you and the Sheriff can roar, smash things up. Shit, you can wail on me all you want, but what good is it gonna do you. Cause he ain't in your town, you two are in his, and he is sure as shit ready for you two,"** Jersey stated.

"Oh, I hope he is ready, 'cause the Crooked Man has no idea who he fucked with. That bastard may think he's untouchable, but he has never faced with anything like me before. The Crooked Man will face a storm the likes of which he has never faced before," I vowed as small harmless gusts of wind picked up suddenly inside the store.

Woody and I left the shop and we stood next to my car.

"Got a smoke?" Woody asked, and I took out a pack of cigarettes, giving Woody a smoke.

"Here, I keep a pack on me. It's just in case Bigby runs out," I told him as I took out a lighter and lit up Woody's smoke.

"Thanks...shitty brand," Woody commented as he started dragging on his smoke.

"What can I say, Huff and Puffs are Bigby's favorite," I remarked as I put the pack of smokes and the lighter in my pockets.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was having trouble deciding which one of you to hit with this thing," Woody stated with a smirk as he gestured to his Axe.

"Gee, thanks" I said sarcastically.

"Jersey was wrong, you know," Woody said as I walked to my car and opened the driver side door.

"About what?" I asked in confusion.

"About those girls. There is something you and Bigby can do about it. You two can get the lousy motherfucker who killed 'em," Woody stated.

"Believe me Woody, that's all we've been working on this whole time," I said seriously.

"Then it's gonna happen. You and the Sheriff come through where the rest of us fail, Deputy," Woody said.

"Hey, uh...about what you did for me, back in the pawn shop..." I trailed off awkwardly and Woody waved it off.

"Forget it Pierce, it's Fabletown," Woody stated as he walked away.

Once he turned around a corner and disappeared from my line of sight, I got in my car and started driving back to the Woodland.


	21. Chapter 21

The Business Office, Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

After I arrived at the Woodland, I met up with Bigby and we headed to the office. Opening the door, I let out a tired sigh when I saw Bluebeard arguing with Snow while Toad stood nearby and Bufkin sat in the rafters.

"Don't tell me to forget it!' If Crane was helping himself to the community coffers, that means his hand was in my pocket! And you let him slip through your fingers!" Bluebeard shouted in outrage.

"You wanna have a discussion about who is in who's pockets, Bluebeard? Because me and my Deputy have got plenty of questions about how Crane's apartment got torched," Bigby announced and everyone looked at us.

"Oh good, Sheriff Bigby and Deputy Nathan have returned," Bufkin said in relief as he flew down.

"Probably ran out of things to break elsewhere," Toad grumbled.

"Something you and Pierce would like to say to me, Wolf?" Bluebeard asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Tons of things, but most of them aren't for mixed company," I remarked.

"Bigby, Nathan, I think we can safely say that Bluebeard had nothing to do with the murders. And pursuing an arson investigation would only be a dead end," Snow stated.

"We can?" Bigby questioned as he showed the mirror shard, and Snow perked up.

"The mirror shard, you two found it! Bufkin, please get that piece back into the mirror, right away!" Snow exclaimed in excitement.

"Avec plaisir, Miss White!" Bufkin agreed as Bigby handed him the shard, and Bufkin flew toward the mirror.

"You two have been gone all day. The last time I saw you both, you looked like you were on death's door. And somehow, you two look even worse. Please tell me that all the blood and the bruises brought you some worthwhile information," Snow said in concern when she saw that we looked like hell, which was true since Bigby and I hadn't slept in days, or showered, and had gotten the shit kicked out of us many times.

"I went to the Lucky Pawn and had a polite chat with Jersey Devil. Get this-the door to the Crooked Man's hideout-it magically moves from place to place. Crane used the Magic Mirror to find it. And once the mirror's fixed, so will we. Bigby went to this butcher shop called the Cut Above where he discovered what appeared to be a place for making glamours and other kinds of magic. The worst part is that not only was the Crooked Man using slave labor, but he also has nearly all of Fabletown under his control," I explained.

"God...how did things get so bad?" Snow asked in shock.

"You can blame Crane for that. That piece of shit was working for the Crooked Man for who knows how many years," Bigby said bitterly as Bufkin flew over to us.

"Sheriff, Deputy, I'm a bit befuddled. More so than usual. This piece...it doesn't seem to want to join the rest. What has the shard been through exactly?" Bufkin asked.

"Well, I found it in Crane's coat. And the last time my Deputy and I saw him, he was in the hands of that psychopath, Bloody Mary," Bigby explained.

"Oh my, say no more. She and the mirror have a...complicated history. It'll take a bit of coaxing, but at least now I know what I'm working with," Bufkin said and flew back to the mirror.

"Sheriff, Miss White, if you two are done making googly eyes at each other..." Bluebeard started to say.

"Do you think you could hang out the shingles for the complaints department already?" Toad finished, and Bigby and Snow started blushing in embarrassment.

"Googly eyes?! I was never-" Snow tried to defend herself and Bigby raised his hand.

"Relax. If you can calm down Bluebeard, my Deputy and I will handle Toad," Bigby reassured.

"Thanks Bigby, but listen...we can't pay him off. He needs to go to The Farm. I know it's lousy news to have to deliver, so just...be firm and be done with it, okay?" Snow asked, and we agreed by nodding before we walked over to Toad, who narrowed his eyes when he saw us.

"Oh, I see, I get passed off to underlings. Typical bureaucracy at work. It's just as well though, seein' as how you blokes are the ones that caused the damage in the first place, you mighty lummoxes. Let's talk renumeration. Or, if that's too big of a word for you both, let's just talk cash," Toad grumbled in irritation.

"Toad, this is the Business Office, not a bank," I stated.

"I'm not lookin' for a handout you ninny, you smashed my car to flinders. I just want you two to make it right. Look...I'm not even gonna spend the dosh on a new ride, you savvy? You two are always on my arse about glamours, glamours, glamours. I just need the resources to afford those spells, mates," Toad pleaded to us.

"I'm sorry Toad, but you have been warned countless times to get a glamour, and you never listen. You leave us no choice. The next truck leaving for the farm? You and your son are gonna be on it," Bigby stated.

"...Bigby...Nathan..." Toad trailed off, looking like he was about to cry which made me feel like an asshole.

"Look Toad, you were told many times to get a glamour and whenever we see you, you're not wearing one. There are laws in this community for a reason so that we don't get hunted down by the Mundies who would either want to experiment on us in a government lab, or try to kill us out of fear. You made your choice and now you have to face the consequences," I said sternly.

"Feh. Government "by the Fables for the Fables" my arse. Oughta send your lupine hides to The Farm, or to a high-kill dog pound," Toad said, his voice cracking as he stomped away.

"Sounds like that went well," Snow stated sarcastically as she walked over.

"No shit. We just had to give him and his son a notice to vacate. Fuck...do I feel like an ass," I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes, wanting all of this to be over so I could get a shower and a long, much deserved sleep.

"Well, Bluebeard just made his donation, funding the Business Office. And I'll be all too grateful to cash his check, so I'm not feeling too wonderful either. Let's hope the mirror has some good news, at least," Snow remarked as we walked over to the Magic Mirror.

"Hey mirror, how are you holding up?" Bigby asked in concern.

"I've oft felt better, rarely worse. The pain's enough to make one curse," The mirror replied.

"Snow, don't hold back on our account. Bigby and I would be delighted to find out what rhymes with motherfucker," I suggested with a wolfish grin.

"Alright, enough. Mirror, mirror, we're glad you weren't slain, now please show us that pervert Crane," Snow said with a smile of amusement, and the mirror's image changed to show us Crane and Bloody Mary standing on a curb in front of a taxi.

"You're part of the Crooked Man's work, one of the things that keeps him going. If that plane leaves for Paris and you're not on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Probably tomorrow, because I will make sure you'll regret it. So why don't-" Mary threatened as she grabbed Crane's chin then a look of suspicion crossed her face and she started looking around, adding, "Wait."

"Mm?" Crane mumbled in confusion.

"Someone's watching. Here's blood in your eye, asshole," Mary stated when she looked at us with a sinister grin, raising her hand, causing what appeared to be blood to come out of the mirror, and the image distorted.

"Just recently repaired, but now I feel as though I'll crack somehow! I beg you people, please explain why I should feel such wrenching pain!" the mirror exclaimed in agony as the last of the image changed back to his face.

"I fear we aimed you in the wrong direction, and wound up spotting Bloody Mary's reflection," Bufkin explained as he was wiping the blood off the mirror with a clean cloth.

"Oh...her. She's awful, I should say. Let's not do that again...okay?" the mirror stated.

"It's a deal. Uh...mirror, mirror, what we need to find is the door that the Crooked Man's hiding behind. We know that it moves...that it's likely to switch...but where is he now, that son of a bitch?" I rhymed awkwardly, shooting a glare at Bigby, Snow, and Bufkin, who were trying not to laugh.

The mirror's image changed until it showed a metal door that was surrounded by a brick wall. But what really caught my attention is that on the door, there was a symbol of a person that was chained to a Catherine Wheel.

"Well, that's definitely his symbol, the Catherine Wheel. But me and my Deputy have no idea where that door is," Bigby said as he examined the door, lighting up a smoke and dragging on it.

"I do, I jog past it three times a week. It's in Central Park, I know the exact footbridge it's under," Snow pointed out.

"Then the Sheriff and I better get down there fast, before the door moves again," I stated in determination as Bigby and I turned around and started to head to the door.

"Bigby, Nathan, you have to bring the Crooked Man back alive. I know there's a temptation to just hand out...street justice, I feel it too. Nobody wants to see him pay for his crimes more than I do. But we have to do this the right way, and the lawful way. He has to stand trial," Snow stated seriously.

"I don't know Snow, in a trial, he stands a chance of winning. Up against me and my Deputy, in the dark, with no one watching...that chance disappears," Bigby said coldly, much to my and Snow's horror.

"Please Bigby, do the right thing," Snow pleaded.

"Snow's right Son, what you're suggesting is that we execute a man in cold blood. You're acting like your old self. I've created that monster once, and I'll be damned if I let that side of you come back again. Let's get the Crooked Man without killing him. If we start to carry out vigilante justice, then we're no better then the Crooked Man," I reasoned as the two of us headed to the door.

* * *

Bigby and I pulled up to the curb and we got out.

"Here we are. Dad, what are you doing?" Bigby asked as I walked over to the trunk and opening it.

"Getting a little extra firepower," I stated as I opened a secret compartment, put on a tactical vest that said Sheriff on the front and back in bold yellow letters, pulled out an Ithaca M37 Riot pump action shotgun that had a sling attached to the barrel and the stock, along with a belt that held 00 buckshot. Then I strapped the belt around my shoulder and across my torso, loading my shotgun with four shells and racking the pump of the shotgun and closing the car trunk.

"Damn Dad, is this necessary?" Bigby questioned in astonishment.

"Look Son, the Crooked Man will most certainly have his gang of thugs with him who are most likely armed to the teeth. So we need to be prepared, because we are most definitely not walking into a potential fubar situation without being prepared. If there's one thing the Army taught me, is to adapt and overcome any situation, understand?" I said, and Bigby nodded.

"Good. Let's move out and stay frosty," I instructed as we ran to the bridge.

Once we arrived at the bridge, Bigby and I stopped in front of the door and Bigby opened it, the opening showing us a glowing portal.

"What the-?!" Bigby stated in disbelief.

"Move up, Son!" I ordered, prompting Bigby to run into the portal and I followed after him.

Next thing I knew, I stumbled into a hallway that looks like it was part of a castle, and Bigby and I looked at each other. Suddenly, we heard footsteps along with a creaking noise, prompting me to aim my shotgun at the hallway, only to quickly lower my gun when Bigby and I saw that the person was Tiny Tim, who limped around the corner.

"Tim? Jesus, I nearly shot you. What the hell are you doing here?" I questioned in surprise.

"Hey Sheriff, Deputy, I'm here to take you to the Boss. Thanks by the way...for leaving out "Tiny". Tiny Tim...you'd think I'd outgrown that centuries ago," Tim grumbled as he held out his hand, and Bigby and I (me slinging my shotgun) each shook his hand in greeting.

"What is this place? Or...where is this place? We're obviously not in Central Park anymore," Bigby questioned as I unslinged my shotgun and kept scanning the perimeter.

"I don't know sir, I don't ask those sorts of questions. I'm supposed to bring you two right in. It's my only job, so...please, don't make it difficult for me," Tim said.

"Of course Tim, lead the way," I said kindly, and all three of us walked around the corner and started heading down the hallway.

"Thanks for understanding. This is all I'm here to do, and I don't want to mess it up. I know I'm the last person you two would expect to be a...well, whatever I am. They haven't given me a title or anything. Guard. Escort, maybe. To be honest, when they asked me, I thought it was a joke," Tim explained.

"Tim...how can you be working here? You know who the Crooked Man is, right?" Bigby questioned in confusion.

"He's not as bad as you two might think. He's never treated me like a...you know, like a broken little kid. I think he understands what it's like," Tim defended as he patted his bad leg that was wrapped with a brace and continued, "Just...keep in mind guys, this is the only job I could get. And if you two and the Boss go up against one another, I stand to lose everything. Because I, and everyone else in Fabletown, gets caught up in the middle," Tim said.

"Look Tim, we understand the position you're in, but you don't have to do this. There are other things you could do," I said gently.

"So, it's just that easy?" Tim inquired bitterly.

"I'm not saying that it'll be easy, but you really do not want to be a part of this," I reasoned.

"A lot of us depend on him. We never get to the front of the line at the business office, but the Crooked Man...hey Sheriff, wait up!...He's always there. We need you two, but we need him too. What we don't need...is a war. Sheriff, please wait! I gotta go in with you and Deputy Pierce. Can't you just wait up?" Tim called out as Bigby started walking quickly and he stopped, letting me and Tim catch up.

"Thanks," Tim said gratefully, and we walked to the end of the hall that had double door.

Hearing someone snapping at somebody in irritation, Bigby asked, "Who's back there?"

"I...I don't exactly know, I...I just mind the door. The Boss is there, I know that much. Excuse me, but I have a job to do," Tim stated as he limped to the door and opened it, announcing, "Sheriff Wolf and Deputy Pierce, Sir."

My eyes narrowed as I saw the familiar faces of Jersey, the Tweedles, Georgie, and Vivian. But what caught my attention was an older man with nicely combed hair, a mustache, and a stretched out bottom eyelid. The man, who I assumed was the Crooked man, was sitting at a desk at the end of the room. The Crooked Man was wearing a black suit with white stripes that was covering an orange sweater, and he was resting his hands on a cane. I gripped my shotgun when Jersey started to head over to me menacingly, but the Crooked Man held up a hand that made Jersey stop.

"Thank you, Tim. I know the Sheriff and his Deputy are not the...accommodating sorts, but you handled it. You did well, you can go now," The Crooked Man praised Tim in a Welsh accent.

"Thank you, Sir," Tim said and left the room, closing the doors behind him.

"You see, Sheriff, Deputy? Everyone in Fabletown has a role to fill, you just have to pay attention to what they need to help them find it," The Crooked Man empathized with hitting the floor once with the tip of his cane and offered, "Sheriff, Deputy, why don't you have a seat? We have a great deal to discuss."

 _"Well shit, awful polite for a monster,"_ I thought sarcastically as Bigby and I walked to the middle of the room and stopped.

"Alright, you have our attention. Let's talk," Bigby stated as he lit up a smoke and started dragging on it, both of us staring at the one person that had caused death and misery to nearly all of Fabletown.


	22. Chapter 22

The Crooked Lair, Location unknown, June 13, 1986.

Bigby and I kept staring at the Crooked Man, the one person responsible for all the carnage that had occurred for nearly a week. If there was a word to describe the air in the room, tense would most certainly be it.

"You've come a long way, Sheriff, Deputy. You two must be tired. And if my associates are correct, neither of you have had much rest recently. I'm so very sorry to hear that. Without respite, a man can hardly be expected to think properly. So please, relax for a moment, will you?" the Crooked Man offered as he stood up from his desk and walked over to a chair that was next to Georgie. I tightened my grip on my shotgun when I saw Jersey pulling out a revolver and resting it on his leg.

"Would you two care for a drink? Something to eat? Vivian here makes an excellent carpaccio. Carpaccio, as you two may know, is named after the renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio. He was most famous for painting Saint Ursula, who was killed after witnessing all eleven thousand of her handmaids bludgeoned to death by Huns. Anyway, carpaccio is pounded raw meat in case either of you weren't aware," the Crooked Man explained.

"Don't misunderstand the situation here. You and the two of us, are not friends. And you are in no position to offer us anything," I said lowly.

"On the contrary, Deputy...and I don't wish to contradict you or the Sheriff here...but your initiative and mine have been friendly for a long while now. Ever since I came aboard these shores, you know...Fabletown's been very accommodating of my humble ventures. Never said a bad word, and that relationship's worked to these ends," the Crooked Man stated.

"Just what are you talking about?" Bigby questioned.

"I've just been left in relative peace, I think puts it best. Allowed to live my own way," the Crooked Man said calmly.

Bigby threw down his cigarette butt and Jersey aimed at him with his revolver, prompting me to quickly aim my shotgun at him and Jersey directed the revolver at me, seeing that I was a much bigger threat.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the Crooked Man questioned Jersey.

"They're gonna-" Jersey started to protest and got cut off.

"Mr. Wolf and Mr. Pierce are our guests, and I have every intention of cooperating. So don't waste the sliver. Sit down Jersey," the Crooked Man ordered.

"Of course, sorry Sir," Jersey apologized, lowered his revolver, and he sat down, but I kept my gun trained on him.

"Mr. Pierce, can you please lower the gun?" the Crooked Man asked politely.

"I don't know, will the Sheriff and I be shot multiple times if I do?" I inquired while keeping Jersey in my line of sight.

"There will be no shooting, you have my word," the Crooked Man said.

I hesitated at first, then I huffed and lowered the gun, but kept it raised a little.

"For transparency's sake, do tell us why you two are here. Perhaps it will put my companions at ease," the Crooked Man said.

"You know why we're here. The two dead girls, Faith and Lily. Everything in this investigation leads back to you," Bigby stated sternly.

"I see, how dreadful. Are you and your Deputy certain that none of you have been misled, Sheriff? I am a powerful man, and I have made enemies. Perhaps I am the victim of a conspiracy," the Crooked Man said.

"Sure, and next you're gonna tell us "Oh look, somebody dropped a suitcase full of cash! And who knows, maybe it belongs to you both, Sheriff, Deputy. And if there's nothing else to discuss, I suppose you two will be on your way?" Do you really think we're that stupid?" I stated menacingly.

"A cash-laden suitcase! My, what an imagination you have! I have no need for such antics Mr. Pierce, It is clear that you and Mr. Wolf are not so easily put off. Regardless, I do apologize for all the trouble you two went through, and I intend to make it up to you," the Crooked Man reassured.

"Uh-huh," Bigby said skeptically.

"The crimes of which you two speak, were indeed perpetrated by an employee of mine. It was Georgie," the Crooked Man pointed out, and Bigby and I looked at Georgie.

"Is that right, Georgie? Are you gonna confess? Don't look at your Boss, look at us," I said as Bigby and I walked over to Georgie.

"Yeah, I killed 'em. Screw 'em, they had it comin'. And you know what else? I don't give a fuck! I'd do it again," Georgie declared as he was pointing at us.

"We're sure you would," Bigby stated.

"The fact of the matter is that Georgie...misinterpreted my instructions," the Crooked Man explained, causing Georgie to look at him in disbelief.

"Misinterpreted?! I think I bloody well got it dead to rights, I think-" Georgie started to protest, only he got cut off.

"One is reminded of Becket's "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" Look it up, Philistines," the Crooked Man clarified when everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Okay whatever, fine. Georgie, you're under arrest. Let's go," I stated and gestured at the door.

"Yeah right. Boss, tell them where they can shove their arrest. The Crooked Man takes care of his employees," Georgie stated stubbornly.

"Oh no, by all means my dear boys, take him. You see Georgie, you're being let go," the Crooked Man declared coldly.

"The fuck?! This a joke?! You all just going to sit there and let these fuckin' bobbies nick me?!" Georgie exclaimed incredulously.

"I offer my employees a certain...leeway in matters of dubious legality, it's true. But I don't condone murder. So, please take Mr. Porgie as a gesture of good will, and perhaps as the first favor in what I'm sure is to be a friendship filled with them. In both directions," the Crooked Man said, and Georgie grabbed him, forcing Bigby to restrain Georgie and drag him away from the Crooked Man.

"You throwing me to the wolves?! After all I've done for you?! Fuck you, mate! Fuck you!" Georgie roared in outrage as he was struggling in Bigby's grip.

"So, Sheriff, Deputy, do we have an understanding?" the Crooked Man asked.

"No, we don't. If Georgie is guilty, he'll go down the Witching Well just like the law says. And we don't owe you a Goddamn thing, you monster," I spat out.

"Ah, I was afraid it would be something like that. Mary, kill the Sheriff, his Deputy, and let's be on our way. There's just no helping them," the Crooked Man ordered, causing Bigby and I to stare at him in confusion.

"Mary's not here, old man. Going senile, are you?" Bigby insulted, but then the voice of Mary rang out behind us and we looked to see her in a mirror.

"Oh yeah? You and Nate want to see a monster, Bigby? Just take look in a mirror!" Mary declared as she walked out of the mirror.

"Hello Mary," I greeted darkly with a feral grin, wanting to eviscerate this sick fucker for having the gall to nearly kill my son last night.

"Why, Rin Tin Tin and Otis! Look at you two all fixed up. I thought I put you two to sleep for sure. Guess Doc Swineheart runs a no-kill shelter, huh," Mary commented.

"Where's Crane? Where did you send him?" I demanded.

"New York? London? Paris? Munich? I don't recall. Far enough away that not even your sensitive snouts will get a whiff of that whale vomit he calls cologne," Mary mocked.

"Stop fucking around with us, Mary! Your psycho act might scare some people, but all it does is just give us a fucking headache!" Bigby exclaimed in irritation.

"You two think I gave you headaches? Well hang on, Benji!" Mary stated.

Suddenly, Dee smashed a chair across Bigby's back, forcing him to let go of Georgie. And before I could react, Mary kicked me hard in my gut, forcing me to stagger backwards.

 **"Come on Lassie! Let's see what you got!"** Jersey taunted Bigby after he shifted into his true form and lunged at Bigby, who grabbed Jersey and threw him into a wall.

"Lassie's was a girl dog, you dumb fuck!" Bigby yelled as he shifted into his part anthro stage.

I recovered from Mary's kick and went to aim at Jersey, but Dum quickly ran over and forced the barrel of the gun out of the way, making me misfire and the buckshot destroyed the decorated glass pane window, showing a glowing portal. Dum and I struggled until I managed to shoot Dum in the foot, causing him to howl out in agony as he fell. And when he pulled out his Glock 17 to shoot me, I killed him by destroying his face with buckshot.

"Brother! You fucking murderer!" Dee roared out in grief and started shooting at me with a revolver, but I quickly dived backwards and blasted Dee in the head. And he fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.

I looked at Bigby to see him struggling with Georgie, who was trying to stab him with a switchblade, but Bigby managed to overpower him and turn the knife on Georgie. Georgie yelled in pain as the knife went into his abdomen, and he staggered back as Vivian ran over to check on him.

 **"Hey Deputy,"** Jersey said to me as he walked over menacingly and added, **"You had a good ol' time wreckin' up my shop, didn't you Pierce? Well, now we're on turf where I don't gotta pay the cleanup bill...so I'm gonna paint the walls of this place with your fuckin' blood!"**

Not having any time to reload, I was tackled by Jersey which knocked the shotgun out of my hands as we struggled. Eventually, Bigby ran over and threw Jersey off me, giving me the chance to pick up my shotgun, quickly reload it with four new shells, and blast Jersey's head, sending blood, bone, and brain matter all over the wall and floor.

Bigby and I stared at the portal, looked at each other and nodded, then we ran through the portal until we found ourselves out onto a street and saw Vivian putting a wounded Georgie into the back of a car and closing the door. When Vivian saw us, a look of panic crossed her face and she quickly got into the car and started it. Bigby and I hurried over (me slinging my shotgun) and we grabbed the back bumper, lifting up the back of the car as Vivian tried to drive away.

Suddenly, the back bumper broke, and the car drove away, Bigby and I changing into our anthro stages and chasing after them on all fours. We followed Georgie and Vivian on the streets and on rooftops until we found ourselves on a bridge and saw Vivian's car, along with the Crooked Man's limo. Bigby and I nodded to each other and we jumped, me landing on Vivian's car and Bigby landing on the Crooked Man's limo, the limo turning to another street and disappearing from my line of sight. I smashed the driver side window and destroyed the windshield of Vivian's car by punching them, and Vivian started swerving to try and throw me off the car. I laid on the roof and grabbed onto it to prevent from getting thrown off until the car stopped suddenly, sending me flying until I crashed muzzle first onto the pavement, and Vivian drove into a nearby alley. I unsteadily stood up and headed to the entrance of the alley and saw Vivian's car turning at the corner and facing me. I snarled when the car suddenly started speeding to me with the intention of running me over, and I leapt onto a pipe on the left and climbed up to the roof. I ran across the rooftops on all fours until I found myself on a roof that was overlooking the Pudding 'N Pie, and I saw Vivian helping Georgie into the club. Shifting back to my human form, I used my wind abilities to fly to the front of the club and landed gently onto the sidewalk.

"Holy shit..." I mumbled in shock when I saw the amount of blood that led from the backseat and to the entrance of the club. Judging by the amount of blood, Georgie didn't have long before he died of blood loss. Shaking my head, I headed to the front door and entered the club.

"Come on Georgie, we can't stay here," I heard Vivian reason.

"Hang on...need a minute," Georgie groaned out in agony.

"Can you stand up? It's okay, take your time," Vivian said.

"It's no fuckin' use, Vivian. No way I'm walkin' out of here," Georgie stated.

"Don't say that, Georgie!" Vivian exclaimed out of denial.

"There's nothin' for it luv', this is where I die," Georgie stated as I walked around the corner and saw Vivian tending to a dying Georgie that was slumped on a sofa.

"Shit...hello Nate...this is it, is it, Pierce? Come to finish what Sheriff Wolf started? Makin' a mistake, you know," Georgie groaned out in pain.

"Oh really, do tell," I said impassively.

"The Crooked Man's the one you and Bigby want. But catching him...that's a tricky business. So like any lazy predator, you target the weak and wounded..." Georgie stated.

"I'm taking you in Georgie, let's go," I said sternly.

"You gonna carry me?" Georgie asked as he barely got up and he stumbled to a railing, leaning on it.

"Please Deputy! Sheriff Wolf has done enough to him! Look at him, he's dying!" Vivian begged.

"Vivian! You don't know what you're doin'!" Georgie piped up.

"I'm trying to help you here!" Vivian exclaimed.

"Just leave it alone!" Georgie retorted and coughed harshly.

"He'll be taken to a hospital, Vivian. But why are you trying to protect him? You know what he did," I stated.

"I'm not going anywhere. It isn't his fault!" Vivian protested.

"He killed Faith and Lily, Vivian. You know that," I reasoned.

"Look, he's made a few mistakes, we all have. But...but it truly wasn't his fault," Vivian defended.

"Like Hell. He made sure the girls couldn't talk, with those charmed ribbons around their necks. And when they tried, he killed them! You're wearing one yourself! How can you stand there and defend the man who murdered your friends?!" I questioned in disbelief.

"What Georgie did was wrong, nobody's saying otherwise. And those girls were more than friends, they were as close to family as I've ever had," Vivian said sorrowfully

"Wait now, so it's all my fucking fault? "Nobody's saying otherwise?" You're gonna throw me under the double decker bus as well?" Georgie questioned in disbelief.

"Georgie, I didn't mean-" Vivian tried to say.

"You know I didn't have a choice, Vivian. You can't blame a cat for scratchin' when he's backed into a corner. It's the only thing left to him. I know Pierce...that all the glitter and pasties and disco balls can make you think otherwise...but this ain't a glamorous business we're in here, pardon the pun. Deals are made in the dark, sealed with the breaking of fingers, as often as the shaking of hands. Sometimes, you just have to do what you're told, and then you brace for it to come 'round and bite you in the ass...when some crooked son of a whore suddenly decides you're not worth keepin' on the payroll," Georgie explained.

"Why did you do then, huh? If it's not your fault, then what the fuck happened?" I questioned.

"Look, Faith and the others tried to pull a runner on us. And as you can imagine, the crooked fuck weren't to thrilled on that count, obviously. But Heaven forbid he should get his hands dirty...so it's Georgie tasked with "taking care of it". You think I don't know what that means? I "take care of" them...or I get "taken care of" me own self. He gave the order. He made me do it, and then he sold me out the second the heat was on! Gave you and Sheriff Wolf an easy target to pin it all on. Wrists to cuff. Or if you'd rather, two eyes to sink a bullet between. See that, Pierce? That's me offering you a choice. That's the thing I never had," Georgie stated.

"Fucking hell, Georgie! Be a man and take some Goddamn responsibility for what you did! You put those ribbons around Faith and Lily's necks! You had the power to let them go...and you chose not to!" I shouted at him.

"You don't have the first idea what you're talking about. If I freed them...what would you have me do? Kill Vivian?" Georgie stated.

"Georgie, don't," Vivian protested.

"It was them or Vivian! So you tell me! If freeing Lily meant that she had to die...you still think I had a fucking choice?!" Georgie yelled in fury.

"What are you doing?!" Vivian protested, only Georgie ignored her.

"I told you, you don't know the fuck about anything!" Georgie shouted in frustration.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned in confusion, and Georgie walked over to Vivian.

"This is the original "Girl With The Ribbon." I'm sure you've heard the stories. Couldn't take it off, couldn't talk about it. The Crooked Man thought that was Goddamn fascinating, so he used this ribbon...duplicated it's magic to make more of 'em...to keep the girls quiet. To seal their lips. Remove the original ribbon and presto, the spell is broken! The girls are all free! But what happens to Vivian, same thing that happened to Faith. So tell me again how I had a choice, you arrogant fuck!" Georgie snapped in irritation.

"Georgie, you promised that you wouldn't tell! We were supposed to look out for one another! I trusted you!" Vivian yelled out of pure betrayal.

"Vivian, how could you do this? I thought those girls were "family" to you," I spoke softly in shock.

"They were! They are! You...you have to understand, nobody was ever supposed to die. When we built this place, it was just a motto, you know? "Discretion is our guarantee." It was gonna be our place. We would be in charge for once, with no one controlling us, no one using us. Then the Crooked Man showed up...and everything went to hell," Vivian said, looking down out of shame.

"There, you see? You still think it's so fuckin' simple? Why I couldn't just...if you think it's so fuckin' simple, go right ahead and kill her, then! Break the spell, save the day, and be a hero!" Georgie dared me.

"Hey!" Vivian protested.

"Told you. Sometimes, all the options are shit," Georgie spat out bitterly.

"I'm not going to kill her! We'll find another way, she...she doesn't have to die. Maybe the witches on the 13th floor can-" I tried to reason.

"Hey! You assholes think you could stop talking about me like I'm not even here?! Like you're the only people in the room who gets to decide my fate?! You think this is hard for you, Georgie?! My life is such a burden on your fucking conscience?!" Vivian screamed in frustration.

"Viv...I didn't-" Georgie pleaded.

"You think I wanted to be this person? Wanted to do what I did to Faith and Lily? And every day, I have to look the others in the eye. Hans...Gwen...sweet Nerissa, and know what I took from them. You do that long enough, and you learn to hate yourself. You reach a point where you just can't pretend any longer," Vivian stated as she reached to her ribbon.

"Vivian, wait!" Georgie exclaimed in horror.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I shouted incredulously.

"Where the only choice you have left, really is no choice at all," Vivian said bitterly as she pulled off the ribbon and to my horror, her head fell off and blood sprayed on the wall as her body fell to the ground.

"Vivian! Oh fuck no! No, no, no!" Georgie yelled in distress as he stumbled to Vivian's body and held her as he sobbed in grief.

"Just...oh my God..." I trailed off, quickly looking away and trying hard not to throw up.

"Vivian...I didn't fucking mean it. I was just-" Georgie babbled and started groaning in pain as I heard footsteps approaching, and I looked to see that it was Bigby, who was staring at the scene in shock.

"Deputy, what the fuck happened?!" Bigby questioned in horror.

"She just...she just fucking killed herself right in front of me...oh God," I stated in distress.

"Ah! Fuck!" Georgie exclaimed in agony as he sat next to Vivian and held her hand.

"Get up...I said get up!" Bigby yelled in fury.

"Bigby, stop! Look at him, his fucking entrails are hanging out! The man is dying!" I reasoned.

"Your Deputy is right, Sheriff...what do you reckon that bit is, eh? Intestine? Gall bladder? It's like my organs know I'm dyin', and they're tryin' to fuck off on their own...I'm gonna die here, I think we all know that. Just promise me you both will give the Crooked Man the same treatment," Georgie gasped out.

"Why do you care? Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself here?" Bigby questioned in confusion.

"Just wanted a nice image to part on. Old foundry by the river, alright? Sheppard Metalworks. That's where we were all to meet if the headquarters was ever breached," Georgie informed us.

"If he's there, we'll get him. Thanks Georgie," I said after I was recovering from what I had seen Vivian do.

"Do you two wanna finish me off now? Or do you both plan to kick me around a little first? Rip my limbs off one by one? That's what you two wanna do, right? Well, whatever it is, just get it over with. I'm not stickin' around for much longer," Georgie said.

"That's not who we are...not anymore," Bigby said lowly.

"Prove it, then. No more games, alright? We all know how this ends...just make it quick. I know what I did...let's not draw this out," Georgie wheezed.

Bigby and I looked at each other, nodded, and I aimed my shotgun at Georgie, who let out a peaceful smile.

"All right, Georgie," I said and pulled the trigger, buckshot destroying Georgie Porgie's head and his body slumped to the ground.

I let out a shaky breath, immediately looked away from the scene, and started walking to the front door.

"Dad, are you okay?" Bigby asked me in concern.

"Let's just finish this," I said quietly as we left the club, but not before Bigby turned off the lights and the neon sign.

* * *

After we left the club, we took a taxi back to Central Park and we got in my car and drove to the place Georgie talked about. Pulling up to the abandoned factory, Bigby and I got out of my car and we headed to the limousine that was parked in front of the factory.

"Still warm...he's here alright," Bigby notified me after he felt the hood.

Moving to the front door, I nodded at Bigby who kicked the door open and let me quickly sweep and clear.

"Clear," I announced as I lowered the shotgun and looked at the large metal door that was at the end of the hallway.

"Okay Son, like before. You open the door, and I'll breach and clear," I instructed, and Bigby nodded.

I aimed my shotgun at the door when Bigby opened it, and I quickly moved through the doorway to find myself onto a catwalk that was overlooking a huge room, checking corners as Bigby walked up behind me.

"Clear for now. Move up and stay frosty," I ordered as we started moving across the catwalk, but stopped when Mary's voice rang out.

"Bigby Wolf! The Big Bad Wolf..." Mary said sinisterly as I gestured my head to a room that was at the far end, and we started walking again.

"You used to be something...they used to fear you. When you were hunting, they would hide anywhere their tiny shivering bodies would fit. And they'd scream, oh how they'd scream "The Big Bad Wolf is coming!"," Mary mocked as we approached a board that had pictures of Faith, Lily, Holly, Snow, Bigby, and me. But what surprised me is that I saw a picture of Faith whispering in Bigby's ear while I was standing next to them.

 _"Jesus, they've been watching us since the very beginning of all of this,"_ I thought in slight shock as Bigby and I carefully headed to the open room. I held up my fist when we were next to the opening, and I quickly moved around the corner and aimed into the room. Not seeing any threats, I moved my hand twice and Bigby and I headed over to a workbench with a few bullets on it that was at the end of the room.

"Silver," Bigby mumbled.

"The Big Bad Wolf," Mary whispered, sounding like she was behind us.

Bigby and I quickly turned around, me ready to shoot, but we didn't see Mary. Suddenly, I felt a presence behind us and I quickly aimed at the threat, but Mary disarmed me and clocked me across the head with the stock of my shotgun. Then she punched Bigby in the face after throwing my shotgun away, sending us stumbling backwards.

"It's about time you two showed up," Mary said as Bigby and I clutched our faces.

"We had to take care of some things first," I growled as I wiped blood off of my bottom lip with my fist.

"Little errand boys, that's nice. So, did you two kill Georgie, or did you let him bleed to death like the squealing little stuck piggy that he is? You did kill him! I knew you two would! How'd it feel when you both saw the life go out of his eyes, huh? It always makes me feel a little horny. What do ya think, do I have issues?" Mary mocked at us as the Crooked Man entered the room.

"Bigby, Nathan, two visits in one evening! I am truly blessed. I'm afraid I'm frightfully busy at the moment and don't have time for another conversation this evening. But I'm sure my associate Mary can...handle you two. Do try to keep it down dear, I'm dreadfully busy and I'd like to be undisturbed," the Crooked Man said.

"Don't worry Boss, they'll be on the ground before you get back to your desk. I mean, just look at them, I'm surprised they're still standing," Mary stated with a psychotic grin.

"Get out of our way, now. Don't make this worse for you," Bigby warned.

"Aw, they don't wanna play!" Mary pouted.

"I'm sure you'll persuade them, dear," the Crooked Man said as he left the room, leaving us alone with Mary.

"Cut this shit out!" Bigby snapped in irritation, causing Mary to turn around and wag her finger tauntingly at us.

"Didn't your Mother ever teach you manners? Or was she too busy fucking whatever breeze drifted through town?" Mary questioned mockingly

Hearing her say that made me see red and I threw a punch, Mary ducking under the punch and kicking me to a wall. One thing about me you should know. You can insult me all you like and I would take it. But if you insulted my dead mate by calling her a whore, gloves are officially off.

"Oooh, looks like I struck a nerve, Deputy," Mary mocked as she knocked Bigby to the ground and started punching him, forcing Bigby to block the punches.

"You leave Winter out of this, you fucking bitch!" I roared out in fury as I ran over and clubbed her hard with my baton, sending Mary flying back.

Bigby snarled as I helped him up, and we turned to see that Mary was gone. Then we heard a noise that sounded like a rattling sigh and Bigby and I looking at each other while I was picking my shotgun off the floor. Bigby and I slowly walked out of the room, looking around until we heard another rattling sigh and we looked across the room to see a dark figure running into an area with containers and the same figure jumping on top of a pipe and disappearing, Bigby and I separating to cover more ground. I moved to the containers and saw that I had to squeeze through.

I slung my shotgun and unholstered my P226, moving sideways while I was aiming my gun down the tight space. Suddenly, I heard something fast approaching and I instinctively blocked, feeling pain as a dark figure clawed my arms as it sped past me. I quickly fired a few shots in the direction of where the figure went and kept moving. Then I heard something coming and I raised my arms in defense as the figure from before slashed me three times as it passed me. I retaliated by shooting at the figure as it disappeared around the corner.

Having had enough of this, I roared out, "Where the fuck are you?! Come out and face me!"

Then I heard the sigh again, and I looked to see that it was Mary making that noise, looking like a bloody corpse with torn clothes and satanic markings on her skin, red and black glowing eyes, and glass sticking out of her body.

"Bitch...you're fugly," I remarked as Mary snarled at me.

 **"Hey there Nate. C'mon, give me a hug,"** Mary said as she opened her arms and approached me.

"Yeah, no thank you," I refused as I holstered my P226, unslung my shotgun, and aimed at her.

Mary kicked the barrel of the gun out of the way, and she lunged at me, making me shout in pain as the glass cut into me.

 **"Do you feel that digging into you, Nate? Do you know what that is? That's pieces of my baby! Isn't that just the wildest thing?!"** Mary cried out in glee, and I grabbed her to pry her off me, making her add, **"Typical man, afraid of intimacy. But I got my hooks in you, honey. It's gonna hurt if you try to split up with me."**

"Argh! Get the fuck...off me, you psychotic bitch!" I yelled in pain, and I kicked Mary away to get some breathing room.

 **"Oof, no fair! You're not afraid of pain, I like that. But you know what, I'm not afraid of it either!"** Mary declared as she suddenly tackled into me, the two of us toppling over a railing, and falling to the ground below.

I groaned as I heard something fall next to me, and looked to see it was Bigby in his anthro stage. Bigby growled as I also shifted into my anthro stage, and we unsteadily stood up, seeing many clones of Mary approaching us. Bigby smacked one Mary away as I grabbed another Mary and threw her into a wall. Then, I ducked to avoid getting kicked and retaliated by backfisting the Mary, making it stumble as another Mary grappled onto my back. I thrashed around and I threw the Mary off until I was tackled to the floor by a Mary. I punched the Mary off me, but two Marys held my arms down while many more Marys tore into my torso with their claws, causing me to roar out in agony.

At that time, all the anger, rage, hatred, agony, and frustration that had been bottled up inside me for days kept growing until something in me snapped and I transformed into my eight foot tall wolf form, throwing the Marys off of me by thrashing around, but two still clung on to my fur. I grabbed the Mary on my chest with my teeth, shattered it with my powerful jaws, and I snatched the second Mary with my muzzle, shook her around like a rag doll and threw her into a wall, causing the clone to shatter. Looking to my right, I saw that Bigby had also changed into his true form and we glared hatefully at all the Marys.

 **"Sheriff, Deputy...your rage, it's so beautiful. Come fill us with it,"** one of the Marys sighed out blissfully as the army of Marys charged at us and it turned into a frenzy of claws, teeth, and glass shattering.

One Mary leaped onto my back and slashed me, making me stand up on my hind legs and I fell backwards, destroying the Mary on my back and two others. Rolling over onto my paws, one Mary stabbed me with a pipe, and I retaliated by pinning the clone with my paw and biting it's head off, causing it to shatter and I batted another Mary into a wall. One Mary jabbed a pipe in my muzzle, but I crushed it with my powerful jaws and shattered the Mary by hitting it.

Eventually, Bigby and I backed up into a dead end, looking side to side at all the Marys that were surrounding us and feeling exhausted from a combination of the fight and not getting any sleep for days.

 **"There's nowhere left to go, wolfies,"** a Mary mocked as the clones approached menacingly.

 **"We're not going anywhere, you psychotic bitch!"** Bigby and I snarled as we spread our paws a little and started breathing in deeply.

Bigby and I started blowing out a massive gust of wind that sent many Marys flying and shattering as they hit the walls, doors, containers, and catwalks. Bigby and I huffed and puffed and blew more Marys away until only two Marys remain, and they leapt up to a pipe that was overhead while Bigby and I glared up at them. The two Marys pulled out shards of glass from their heads and dived down to Bigby and I as we used our powerful lupine muscles to jump up at the Marys at the same time.

Bigby and I grabbed the Marys in midair with our teeth, shattered them before they could stab us in the eyes, and once we landed on the ground, we howled in victory. Bigby growled as he shrunk, his torso shifting, his forelegs and hind legs snapping and crunching, and his muzzle, ears, tail, and fur receding until he was on his hand and knees in his human form, breathing heavily while he was naked. But I was still in my wolf form, my eyes closed peacefully and enjoying being back in my natural form, using my wind abilities to conjure a gentle breeze that ran through my fur.

"Dad? What are you doing? Why haven't you changed back?" Bigby asked in confusion as I opened my eyes and looked down at him.

 **"Sorry Son, it's just that it's been so long since I was in my natural form and I just wanted to enjoy it while I still could,"** I explained wistfully and shifted back to my human form, my clothes, duty belt, tactical vest, ammo belt, and shotgun appearing.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Bigby agreed with a smile.

Then we looked up at the foreman's office and started glaring when we saw the Crooked Man looking down at us.

"We're coming for you Crooked Man, and there's no one left to stop us," I vowed as Bigby put on some clothes that he found and we started heading to the stairs, determined to end this nightmare.


	23. Chapter 23

Sheppard Metalworks, New York City, America, June 13, 1986.

Bigby and I cautiously approached the door that led into the foreman's office. I quickly opened the door, checking corners, then I signaled to Bigby that it was all clear as he met up with me. Then we glared at the Crooked Man, who was staring out the window.

"Bigby, Nathan, we have to stop meeting like this," the Crooked Man greeted while Bigby and I stared hatefully at the monster that was responsible for so much death and terror.

"Cut the shit, Crooked Man. Nobody here but you, me, and my Deputy. We just destroyed your bodyguard, Bloody Mary. Give us one good reason why we shouldn't either tear you apart, or why I shouldn't have my Deputy shoot you," Bigby growled while his eyes glowed gold. I aimed my shotgun at the Crooked Man when he quickly turned around, pulled out his revolver, and aimed it at Bigby's head.

"One good reason? I'll give you and your Deputy six in shining silver. You and your Deputy are thinking you two might either wrestle the gun away from me, or shoot me before I can get a shot off. But rest assured, I'd empty all six rounds into both of you before you two could blink. And besides, Snow White wants you two to bring me back alive, doesn't she? Frog-march me right into the Woodland. Into the heart of Fabletown proper. And wouldn't you know it, that's what I want too," the Crooked Man stated.

"We know you've arranged your life so this isn't something you hear too often, but it's not our jobs to give you what you want," I snarled, feeling very tempted to pull the trigger.

"And yet, you two will bring me in, so that I can be given a fair trial. Sheriff, Deputy, you both are government men, and people need to believe that they can trust their own government. I'll have my chance to speak for myself in front of those selfsame people, and then we'll determine whether I've actually done anything the least bit wrong," the Crooked Man said.

"Funny thing...most folks with a clean conscience don't go aiming loaded guns at peoples heads," Bigby said sarcastically.

"What, this old thing? It's merely a precaution. I'm no murderer. I didn't kill those women or anyone else, and I think you two know that by now," the Crooked Man stated.

"Maybe you didn't carry it out, but we don't think Georgie was lying when he said you ordered their deaths," I spat out hatefully.

"And does there not exist the shadow of a doubt that Mr. Porgie, an inveterate criminal, a drug user, a whore monger, might possibly have been exaggerating my influence over him? As for me, Sheriff...I have little else to say to you and your Deputy here in private. My side of the story demands an audience. I'll tell it to the community at my trial, where I'm confident that you two will be swayed like the rest of them. Speaking of you two, let me ask you both an honest question. What do you two really care about here? Where this case is concerned, I mean. Do you two really want the truth? Or do you just want to look like heroes? Because those are two very different things," the Crooked Man questioned us.

"We want what's right. We want justice for Faith and Lily," Bigby declared.

"And you have it, do you not? Georgie was their killer and now...well, he is dead, yes? So you both won. My heartiest congratulations," the Crooked Man praised us, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

"How stupid do you think we are?" I questioned coldly.

"How long have you and the Sheriff got? You two are obliged to bring me in, so perhaps you can dispense with all the seething and snarling. I'd hate to have to tattle on you two to Miss White. Speaking of whom, I'm really rather looking forward to seeing her again. An exceptional woman with a modicum of power? Not difficult to understand why Crane took a shine to her," the Crooked Man said with a smug grin.

"Don't push it Crooked Man, you're already on thin ice. Let's go, hand over the gun," Bigby demanded.

"I think I'd rather hold on to it, if you two don't mind. What do you say?" the Crooked Man suggested, and huffed when he saw us glaring at him in warning.

"Fine," the Crooked Man sighed and dropped the gun, prompting me to quickly walk over, kick the gun away, sling my shotgun, and put the Crooked Man's hands behind his back, cuffing him and patting him down to make sure that he didn't have any other weapons on him.

"I'm sure Miss White will be pleased...such reliable pups, I understand why she wants to keep you two around," the Crooked Man said.

"Shut up, you're under arrest. You have a right to remain silent. You will be given a trial in front of your peers, and your punishment will follow. One more thing, your right to remain silent? Please exercise it," I said sternly as Bigby and I started escorting the Crooked Man out of the office.

* * *

After we arrested the Crooked Man, Bigby and I drove back to the Woodland, and headed to the Witching Well chamber. I felt a sense of relief that this nightmare was almost over, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Bigby getting shot by Mary and holding him in my arms. Seeing my son in my arms while he was bleeding out that night truly terrified me, and I almost lost it when Snow informed me that his heart had stopped. It was at that moment I realized that I could've lost him, and I had decided that once this was all over, I was going tell Bigby and Snow everything about my past and that I used to be a Mundy police officer/resistance leader that was changed into a Cardinal Wind by unknown means after I saw the world end.

As Bigby and I moved the Crooked Man to the Witching Well, we heard voices arguing, and we entered the chamber to see Snow, Holly, Gren, Lawrence, Bluebeard, Beast, Beauty, Greenleaf, and a balding man wearing a butcher's apron. Then everything became quiet when all the Fables in the room saw us, and their eyes widened in surprise.

"They're back, thank God," Snow said with a smile as Beauty gasped in shock.

"The Crooked Man..." Beast trailed off in disbelief.

"Motherfucker," Gren growled as we passed him and approached Snow.

"Are you two okay? It's been hours, and we were worried that you had run into some trouble at the Crooked Man's place. And after what happened with Mary..." Snow trailed off, looking at me and Bigby in concern.

"What, don't we look okay?" I quipped with a wolfish grin.

"I guess you two have been through worse. Sheriff, Deputy, you both did well. I'm...surprised. Not that you two did well...but that...you know...I'm just glad that you both made it back in one piece," Snow said in relief as we smiled at her, and Gren came walking over to us.

"It's about time you two showed up, now throw this asshole down the fuckin' well!" Gren snapped impatiently.

"Yes, what are you waiting for?!" Bluebeard agreed and everyone except me, Snow, and Bigby started yelling angrily at the Crooked Man.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention, please! I appreciate you all coming on such short notice. Normally, we would schedule a formal tribunal, but I didn't want to wait. And I know that none of you wanted to, either," Snow announced, and added, "Crooked Man, you are charged with the murder of Faith Gateau and Lily, which Georgie Porgie carried out at your command. You are charged with inciting violence against members of the Fabletown community, including the attempted murder of Sheriff Bigby Wolf and Deputy Nathan Pierce. And you are charged with multiple counts of fraud, extortion, racketeering, and the illegal sale and possession of magical spells and artifacts. If proved, these charges carry the sentence of death. And your body will be committed to the Witching Well, as our ancient practice requires."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Throw him in already!" Beast yelled in anger.

"Yeah, toss him down there for fuck's sake so we can all go home," Holly said coldly.

"Quiet, rabble," Bluebeard hushed the angry crowd.

"Hang on everybody, we don't know if anyone's getting thrown anywhere just yet," Snow placated, which didn't sit well with the crowd.

"What?! Why the hell not?! We all know who he is and what he's done!" Beast exclaimed in outrage.

"Yeah Snow, what are you talking about?" Beauty questioned in suspicion.

"If we're going to be a real community living in this world, then we need to take some lessons from this world. Here, people are innocent until proven guilty, and they have a right to defend themselves. Crooked Man, you may now answer the charges against you," Snow told the Crooked Man, who nodded politely.

"Thank you, Miss White," the Crooked Man said, and looked at the crowd, adding, "I don't have to tell any of you what sort of a person Georgie was, God rest his soul. He was not an intelligent man, nor was he a patient man. I employed him to run the Pudding 'N Pie, but I certainly never asked him to murder anyone. I had the opportunity this very night to pull the trigger on Sheriff Wolf and Deputy Pierce if I wished. But did I? Of course not! Quite the contrary, I was more than helpful when apprehended. I cooperated, I answered all of their questions. I'm the victim here, I assure you."

"You lying son of a bitch! You lured us into a trap so that Mary could kill us!" Bigby snarled.

"You misunderstand entirely. I'm not responsible for dear Mary's actions, poor thing was always as mad as a hatter. She only wanted to protect me as I have always protected her all these years. You can hardly blame me for inspiring loyalty, however misguided! You understand wanting to protect what you care about, don't you Sheriff? And what about you Deputy? You'd do anything to keep those you love safe from harm," the Crooked Man stated to me.

"Do not even think about playing innocent with me, asshole. We know how you operate. Even if you aren't a murderer, you're still a pimp and a loan shark," I said coldly.

"Nathan, let him speak," Snow placated, and I let out a huff in response.

"Thank you, Miss White. Now then, I do what I must to get by, just as all of us do. If that means running askance of what laws exist, then so be it, but understand one thing before you all condemn me. There is no police force in Fabletown other than the Sheriff and his Deputy. No regulatory agencies, no welfare office, no small claims court, no banks. When Fables need things, things their government can't or won't give them, they come to me, and I help them. Did I put a gun to Beauty's head and force her to throw away her inheritance on knick-knacks? Did I force poor Grendel here to get drunk and gamble away what money he had? Was it I who refused to allow him to find work in the Mundane world? Is it I you ought to be blaming?" the Crooked Man questioned, causing the other Fables to look down hesitantly.

"Do not put that on us! You're the fucking problem here, not us! This isn't a referendum on Fabletown's administrative practices, Goddammit!" I exclaimed in rage.

"No? Perhaps it should be! You people flout the laws at every turn! Your government has been a nest of corruption for decades!" the Crooked Man exclaimed in irritation.

"What did you say?!" Snow yelled in outrage.

"Crane has been managing this town for years with one hand in the coffers, and the other down his pants! And you have the audacity to condemn me for pursuing an honest trade, even if there is a bit of dirt beneath my fingernails?" the Crooked Man questioned in disbelief.

"You don't understand, asshole. This is over! We got you!" Bigby declared.

"Really? What is it that you and your Deputy got, exactly? Georgie already confessed to these crimes, and then you both killed him. In self-defense, of course! I wouldn't suggest otherwise. But there you have it, the "whodunit" has been resolved. A pity about those poor girls, but they did choose a particular lifestyle. All you and your Deputy have are allegations, Sheriff, for which you two personally are the only witnesses, and which neither of you have any evidence whatsoever," the Crooked Man stated.

"Is that true? Neither of you have any evidence?" Bluebeard questioned me and Bigby.

"We know what we saw! We know what we heard! The things Georgie and Vivian said before they...died, It's enough to send you down the well a hundred times," I tried to reason.

"And isn't it convenient that you two were the only ones to survive that conversation? How would many of you like to be convicted with such "evidence"?" the Crooked Man asked sarcastically.

I kept looking at Bluebeard, feeling tense as he was rubbing his chin in thought until what he said stunned me.

"I say we let him go," Bluebeard decided.

"What?!" Bigby exclaimed in shock, looking just as stunned as I was.

"How do I know that I won't be the next one standing there in cuffs, once you decide that I'm what's wrong in Fabletown?" Bluebeard asked.

"Cueball has a point. That could be me up there, easy," Holly stated as the other Fables mumbled their agreement.

"So, Miss White, would you like to remove the cuffs now, or would you like to wait for the Fabletown October revolution to begin?" the Crooked Man suggested smugly as he held out his wrists.

"Fuck," Bigby grumbled in displeasure.

 _"Fuck is right. This fucker is going to get away with what he's done,"_ I thought unhappily, not liking how things were turning out. If Bigby and I didn't come up with something fast, the Crooked Man will be declared not guilty and he will most definitely get the chance to continue his criminal activities in another country or some other place where Bigby and I can't track him down.

"Wait! I have something to say!" A familiar voice called out, and I looked behind me to see Nerissa hurrying over to us.

"Nerissa!" Bigby said in surprise.

"I'm sorry dear, but there's no need for your assistance. I believe the situation has been resolved," the Crooked Man reassured, only to recoil a little when Nerissa shot him a pissed off expression.

"Fuck you! It's amazing, right? What this guy can do with a few words, make you question yourself. Make you think the opposite of what you thought you knew. That's what makes him so good. Half the time he doesn't even have to threaten you, he just messes with your head and you do it to yourself. But when you've got a ribbon around your neck that makes it so you can't ever betray him, he gets a little more direct. Talks about what'll happen to you if you get out of line, how he'll hurt you," Nerissa growled in the Crooked Man's face.

"Listen, darling. I believe there's been some kind of-" the Crooked Man tried to say, but he got cut off.

"He ordered Faith and Lily's deaths! I was there when it happened! Hell, I was in the Goddamn room! He forced Georgie to do it. Georgie tried to refuse, but he knew that if he didn't do it, the Crooked Man would have him taken out next. Georgie wouldn't have killed a fly without the Crooked Man's say-so, let alone two of his best employees. My lips aren't sealed anymore. It's over for you," Nerissa stated darkly.

"Well, looks like we've got our evidence," I declared smugly.

"I'd say so," Snow agreed while the other Fables were nodding in satisfaction.

"Well, it's not enough for me!" Bluebeard shouted as he started to storm over to the Crooked Man, looking like he was going to beat the hell out of him.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?! He's the most dangerous man in Fabletown!" Beast exclaimed incredulously while grabbing Bluebeard's shoulder.

"Get your hands off me, you cretin!" Bluebeard retorted.

"Throw him down the fucking well!" Holly yelled in fury.

"No Holly! If it's actually fucking true...it's like what the man said, what happens when it's our turn?!" Gren asked in complete paranoia.

"Nice work, sweet tits. You've been running the show for what, twelve hours? And the place is already falling apart at the seams. Crane may have been a piece of shit, but at least he got the job done. Listen, I have an idea. We don't have to become murderers," Greenleaf spoke up.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Bluebeard demanded.

"He's guilty! I know that, but we don't have to kill anybody. We can imprison him. Lock him up forever...somewhere where he can never hurt anyone again," Greenleaf offered.

"How can we be sure that he won't escape?" Snow asked skeptically.

"I can help! We'll use magic, I assure you-" Greenleaf started to explain, but she was cut off by the other Fables that protested until Snow shouted at them.

"Everyone, listen up! Clearly, we're having trouble agreeing on a suitable punishment, so I think we-" Snow started to say until she got interrupted.

"This is going nowhere!" Bluebeard snapped in irritation.

"Someone needs to make a decision!" Snow retorted.

"Who?" Beauty asked.

"I hope you aren't suggesting yourself," Bluebeard said condescendingly.

"Why not?" Holly asked in confusion.

"What about a vote?" the man in the butcher's apron, who I assume is Johann The Butcher, offered.

"What do you think this is?" Bluebeard questioned in disbelief.

"Everyone, calm down!" Snow exclaimed in exasperation.

"We should have a vote, make it democratic," I offered.

"Do you really think that's going to work, Deputy?" Bluebeard asked.

"Why not. It works for the Mundies in this nation, why not us? That way everyone will be able to decide on things much easier," I stated.

"He's right. Nobody can agree on anything," Snow agreed.

"What about Bigby and Nathan?" Nerissa asked Snow.

"What about them?" Snow questioned in confusion.

"They were appointed, they're...the only official representatives, really. They should be the judges," Nerissa pointed out.

"That makes sense to me," Johann agreed.

"I guess it does," Holly said.

"Okay," Gren said, and other Fables agreed as well.

"Are you sure? This isn't how it's-" Snow started to question hesitantly.

"It's what the people want, Miss White," Bluebeard stated.

"Okay...Sheriff Wolf, Deputy Pierce, it's your call," Snow said.

"Snow...we-" Bigby tried to say.

"It's okay, we'll do what you two think is right," Snow said reassuringly.

"Yes my dear boys, do what you two think is right," the Crooked Man mocked.

"Teach him a fucking lesson!" Gren spat out, and the other Fables agreed while Greenleaf refused.

"Not this way!" the Crooked Man declared and suddenly he wrapped the chain of my cuffs around my neck, and the Crooked Man started dragging me to the Witching Well. I managed to break free by elbowing the crooked bastard hard in the solar plexus, and I shoved him to the well. I grabbed the Crooked Man by his suit jacket, decked him hard across the face, and leaned him slightly over the well.

"Ahhhh...there you are...the darkness in you that has been locked away for so long has finally come out at last...Deputy. I hope you all...remember this moment...think of me...when you try to sleep at night. Finish it, Deputy!" the Crooked Man dared me, but I moved him away from the well and threw him to the floor before I looked at Greenleaf.

"Greenleaf, you said you have a way to keep him from hurting people," I said, much to the displeasure of Gren, Bluebeard, and Holly.

"After what he's done, you and the Sheriff are just going to put him in prison?!" Gren exclaimed in disbelief.

"This isn't the way, Deputy," Bluebeard grumbled.

"You're doing the right thing," Beast said gratefully.

"Yes, there's a way," Greenleaf stated as she and I looked down coldly at the Crooked Man.

"Alright, do it. And to those that disagree with my choice, think about this. Imagine this fucker locked up all alone for all of eternity, watching his empire crumble around him while he is helpless to do anything about it? I think that is a more fitting punishment for this monster, don't you all agree?" I suggested, and I saw the other Fables starting to take that into consideration.

"Yeah, he's right. Death would be too much of a mercy for this motherfucker," Holly agreed as the other Fables nodded.

Bigby and I hauled the Crooked Man to his feet and Greenleaf gestured us to follow her. The two of us followed Greenleaf while I let out a sigh of relief.

 _"It's finally over. Faith, Lily, I hope you've finally found peace,"_ I thought while Bigby and I dragged the Crooked Man out of the chamber.


	24. Chapter 24

The Business Office, Woodland Luxury Apartments, Bullfinch Street, Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City, America, June 14, 1986.

I woke up, got up, and was taking a much needed shower to get ready for work, thinking about how I was going to tell Bigby and Snow about who I am.

 _"How do I tell them? How do I do it without sounding like I'm crazy?"_ I thought to myself while I was getting out of the shower, feeling refreshed for the first time in days.

After Bigby and I handed the Crooked Man off to Greenleaf, she told us that the process was going to take all night. So, Bigby and I met up with Snow, who told us to take the rest of the night off, and Bigby and I headed to our apartments. Once I entered my apartment, I took off my duty belt, my tactical vest, my ammo belt, put my shotgun, the tactical vest, and the ammo belt in my armory, kicked off my boots and headed to my bed, passing out asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I conjured up a new Deputy shirt, blue jeans, and work boots on me as I was putting on my duty belt, and I left the room and met up with Bigby, who was dragging on his smoke. The two of us greeting each other by nodding.

"Dad, you look like hammered shit," Bigby pointed out when he saw me.

"Oh, thanks Son. Like you look any better," I remarked sarcastically.

We chuckled as we headed to the office. We spotted Greenleaf and Flycatcher turning around a corner and walking to us. I saw Greenleaf was holding a birdcage that had a crow inside it, and I smirked when I caught the Crooked Man's scent coming off the bird.

"Not what we were expecting. Morning, Crooked Man," I greeted the crow mockingly and the bird cawed angrily at me, making me add, "Yeah, yeah, fuck you too."

"Dad, you can understand what he is saying in that form?" Bigby asked in slight astonishment.

"Perk of shape-shifting into practically anything and more, you can understand animal languages," I explained, causing Bigby to look at me in awe.

"He's got a sharp tongue, I thought it would be better for everyone if he parted with it," Greenleaf stated with a mischievous grin.

"Thanks, Greenleaf," Bigby said as we started walking past her and Flycatcher.

"Work is work, I guess," Greenleaf mumbled, causing us to turn around and look at her sympathetically as she pushed the button on the elevator.

"Hey Sheriff, Deputy. You two gonna come see the truck off? We're leaving for The Farm in a few...thought you two might want to, I don't know..." Flycatcher offered.

"Don't worry Fly, we'll be down in a minute," I reassured Flycatcher as he and Greenleaf entered the elevator.

"Okay, great," Fly said as the doors closed, and Bigby and I headed to the office.

As Bigby and I turned around the corner, we saw a line of Fables at the door to the office who smiled and started whispering to each other when they saw us coming.

"This fuckin' line," Gren grumbled in irritation, and he gave us a nod of respect while we passed him. Suddenly, Snow rushed out of the office with files in her arms, and stopped when she saw us.

"Oh...Mr. Wolf, Mr. Pierce! Flycatcher left his keys..." Snow informed us as she dropped the keys in Bigby's hands, and the phone in the office started ringing.

"Snow, if you have free time later, I need to speak to you and Bigby about something important," I said seriously.

"I'm...I'm really sorry Deputy, I need to take this, but I'll make sure to clear my schedule for lunch. We'll talk later, okay?" Snow said as she was walking back into the office.

Then, Bluebeard nodded at us as he walked past us and entered the office, greeting Snow as the door closed shut. Bigby and I walked to the elevator and took it down to the lobby, then left the building and headed to Flycatcher's truck, where Toad, T.J., and Colin stood while Flycatcher was loading up the back of the truck.

"Fly, you forgot these," Bigby announced and tossed the keys to Flycatcher, who caught them.

"Oh, thank you. It's, uh, been pretty busy around here," Flycatcher thanked us as Colin walked over to us.

"Pretty extreme way to keep me off your sofa, Bigby," Colin remarked as Bigby held up a paper bag full of Huff and Puff smokes and a bottle of liquor.

"Yeah, well...my Deputy and I were hoping this would maybe ease the transition a little, Colin," Bigby offered as he put the bag down of the sidewalk, and Colin looked in it.

"What's this, bread and circuses? Pander to the masses so they don't rise up?" Colin questioned sarcastically.

"For fuck's sake Colin, we're just trying to be nice," I said in exasperation, throwing my arms up in irritation.

"Try being honest instead and admit that more than anyone else, you two belong at The Farm," Colin stated bitterly.

"Look Colin. Even though the non-human Fables allow my Deputy on The Farm, you know I'm not welcome there," Bigby argued.

"Yeah, and what a huge fucking mystery that is, said the bacon platter," Colin insulted.

"You know what, screw you pig!" Bigby retorted while he flipped off Colin with both hands.

"My sentiments exactly, Sheriff," Colin said as he grudgingly picked up the peace offering and headed to the back of the truck as Toad approached us.

"I keep reassuring T.J. that things will be better where we're going...but damn it all fellas, he knows when his old man's lying. Animals like us...I guess we get what we deserve," Toad said sorrowfully while looked at T.J., who was trying hard not to cry.

"Toad, you don't have to worry. I've been to The Farm plenty of times whenever I want to get away from the big city, and the place is alright. Weyland Smith, the owner, he's a good man who'll take good care of you and your son. You have my word," I reassured.

"I hope you are right, Deputy," Toad said as he climbed up into the back of the truck, and Flycatcher drove off with Toad, T.J., and Colin.

After I was done waving, I looked at Bigby and said, "C'mon Son, let's go see if Snow has any free time."

Bigby nodded as we walked back into the building and headed to the office. Knocking on the door, I heard Snow telling us to come in and Bigby and I entered the office to see Snow working at her desk.

"Bigby, Nathan, is there something you two want?" Snow asked us.

"Sorry to bother you like this, but do you have some free time so we can have that talk?" I asked.

"Let me check," Snow said and she looked through her schedule, then said, "I've checked and I have a little free time. So, what did you want to talk to me and Bigby about?"

 _"Okay, here I go,"_ I thought nervously, hoping that my decision wasn't going to bite me in the ass later.

"Alright, listen, what I'm about to say to you two is going to sound unbelievable, but please keep an open mind," I said, and my son and Snow looked at each other in confusion.

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Bigby asked in concern.

"After everything we've been through, I decided that it's time to explain my entire past to you two, so listen carefully," I said seriously, and Bigby and Snow paid attention.

I told them everything, about how I used to be a Mundy that was born and raised here in Manhattan, lost my father when I was 14, and my mother and I moved to Glendive, Montana. I told them that I entered the police academy and once I graduated, I was transferred to Hope County and did my job well for 3 months. I told Bigby and Snow about the cult, Project At Eden's Gate, and how everything went to hell when a raid that was conducted by me, Deputy Joey Hudson, Deputy Staci Pratt, Sheriff Earl Whitehorse, and U.S. Marshal Cameron Burke went horribly wrong and my coworkers, along with Burke were kidnapped while I was rescued by Dutch. I told them about how the cult had invaded the County, dragging people out of their homes and killing anyone who tried to resist and had eventually taken over all of Hope County. I explained my experiences of forming a resistance and fighting for two hellish months and how I witnessed Burke kill a leader of a faction in the resistance before turning the gun on himself while under the influence of the drug called Bliss. I also didn't leave out that Jacob Seed captured me a few times and tortured me physically and mentally until he brainwashed me to kill a friend of mine. Then I talked about John Seed and how he was the one who gave me the 'Wrath' tattoo on my chest. I kept explaining how I killed Joseph Seed's three family members in brutal ways until my co-workers, members of the Resistance, and I stormed Joseph's compound and fought him until we overpowered him. Then I told Snow and Bigby of the nuclear warheads falling and hitting in and around Hope County, and how everyone had tried to escape the carnage, and how I was knocked unconscious when I crashed the truck I was driving and woke up in the Homelands in the form of a 8 foot tall gray timberwolf.

"And that's when I met your mother, Bigby," I finished.

Bigby and Snow just looked at me in shock and disbelief, not knowing what to say until Bigby started to speak.

"You're not lying. I can tell from your scent that you are not lying. How the fuck is this possible, and why did you keep this to yourself?" Bigby questioned, looking hurt.

"It was not my intention to keep this from you and Snow, I just didn't how to explain it without sounding like I was crazy. And as for how it is possible, I don't know," I admitted.

"Wait, you have no idea how this happened to you? And when did the world end?" Snow questioned.

"For your first question Snow, I truly still have no idea how or why I was dragged centuries into the past and transformed into an entity that can shape-shift and control one of the elements. As for your second question, it all ended decades from now, in the year 2018," I explained, causing Snow to cover her mouth in horror.

"Oh God...that's 32 years from now. How did it happen? Why did it happen?" Snow questioned.

"How it happened...it was caused by World War 3 breaking out and nuclear war heads started dropping into this country. As for the why, my guess is that the Mundies had backed each other into a corner, decided that enough was enough, and they killed each other out of sheer desperation. The state of the world and it's political climate was past its breaking point from what I could understand on the radios I heard," I explained.

"Jesus...what'll we do when It happens? During my time in the second world war, I heard of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There wasn't anything left," Bigby mumbled in shock.

"We do what we Fables have always done when it does happens. We survive," I stated seriously.

Bigby and Snow nodded, but I could still tell that they were greatly disturbed by what they had learned. Nobody ever expects or is willing to believe that everything they know is going to be destroyed in a flash of light and a massive explosion. All we could do was prepare for the inevitable and pray that we could survive it.

* * *

A few weeks later.

After I told Bigby and Snow everything about my past, we all decided to continue living our lives as normally as possible and quietly prepare for the end of the world. A few weeks later, Bigby and I got a call from Nerissa who told us that she was waiting outside, wanting to speak to us. So, Bigby and I left the building and walked over to Nerissa, who was standing across the street with an umbrella that she was using to cover herself from the pouring rain.

"Thanks for meeting me," Nerissa greeted with a smile when she saw us approaching.

"It's no problem Nerissa, but are you sure you wouldn't rather do this in our office? You're gonna catch your death out here, standing around in the rain like this," I offered in concern.

"I don't mind the water. Former mermaid, remember? And besides, if death was gonna catch me, I'd have been six feet under a long time ago," Nerissa pointed out while she was holding out her palm and letting the raindrops hit it.

"Good point. We see you're still wearing the ribbon," Bigby said.

"Old habits, I guess. It's just...it's very important to me. There's something important I need to tell you two," Nerissa said hesitantly.

"Yeah? What is it?" I questioned in concern.

"It's about what happened to the girls, Lily and...Faith. God, I don't even know where to start. The three of us, we had this plan, leave the Pudding 'N Pie for good. Start fresh. But Faith decided to get some leverage, so she stole a picture of Crane and Lily together. And the minute she nicked that photo, we had dirt on one of the Crooked Man's people. It was terrifying, having that physical evidence, guys. Wondering what they might do to suppress it. I thought if I came clean to Georgie, maybe he could get the Crooked Man to leave us alone. I begged for mercy, for all of us. But Georgie didn't do mercy. Georgie said he'd smooth things over with the Crooked Man...but when he came back to the club that night, things weren't smooth...at all. He said he had to make an example of one of us...and then he just reached out and grabbed Faith's ribbon...and that was the end of her. That night...I did the only thing I could think to do. I left Faith's head at your doorstep," Nerissa confessed.

"Of course! That night, I theorized that someone left Faith's head on the front steps to send a message. It was you...you left Faith's head on our doorstep as a cry for help," I said in realization.

"All I did was just...point you two in the right direction," Nerissa stated.

"But at the trial...you said you were there when the Crooked Man ordered Faith and Lily's execution," Bigby said in confusion.

"I said what I had to, I wanted to see him punished. People like us...we get forgotten all the time. When we suffer, we do it in silence. Our lips are sealed, and that's the way the world prefers it. We just...fade away like we never existed in the first place. But I knew you two wouldn't let that happen. I knew you two would make things right. Sheriff, Deputy, Fabletown needs you two, needs both of you and Snow. You look out for each other, and you look out for the rest of us, too. You listened when no one else would. You protected those who couldn't protect themselves, you brought law and order to this fucked up town. And that's why I left Faith on your doorstep, because I knew deep down, Sheriff Wolf...you're not as bad as everyone says you are. Well, see you around..." Nerissa said as she turned and walked away from us.

My eyes narrowed because what Nerissa had said and how she had acted at that moment reminded me very much of Faith when we first met her. And as I wracked my brain about the similarities between them, my eyes widened as it hit me and I smiled when I realized who the woman walking away from us really was.

 _"So, you survived after all...Faith. I know you'll find what you're looking for,"_ I thought happily.

I saw that Bigby was about to go after her, but I grabbed his shoulder and shook my head. Bigby nodded, knowing that Faith had been through enough hell in life and that she needed peace. As we walked back to the Woodland, I smiled, feeling like big things were coming, and only time would tell where the future would take us.

* * *

A/n I'm finally done. So, what did you think about this story, because Nathan Pierce's story isn't done. That's right, I'm making a sequel that continues into the Fables storyline. So, let me know what you think about chapter one of Nate's story by putting down your thoughts in the reviews.


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